| Continent | Asia |
|---|---|
| Region | Southeast Asia |
| Coordinates | 2°30'N 112°30'E |
| Area | Ranked 66th 329,847 km² (127,354.6 sq mi) 99.63% land 0.37% water |
| Borders | Total land borders 3,147.3 km (1,956 mi) Thailand: 646.5 km (402 mi) Indonesia: 2,019.5 km (1,255 mi) Brunei: 481.3 km (299 mi) |
| Highest point | Mount Kinabalu (4,095 m) |
| Lowest point | Indian Ocean (0 m) |
| Longest river | Rejang River |
The geography of Malaysia deals with the physical and human geography of Malaysia, a country located in Southeast Asia. There are two distinct parts to this country being Peninsular Malaysia to the west and East Malaysia to the east. Peninsular Malaysia is located south of Thailand, north of Singapore and east of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. East Malaysia is located on the island of Borneo and shares borders with Brunei and Indonesia.
Climate of Malaysia
Located near the equator, Malaysia's climate is categorised as equatorial, being hot and humid throughout the year. Annual rainfall exceeds 2000mm a year and the average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius. Malaysia faces two monsoon winds seasons – the Southwest Monsoon from late May to September, and the Northeast Monsoon from November to March. The Northeast Monsoon brings in more rainfall compared to the Southwest Monsoon.
The highest temperature was recorded at Chuping, Perlis on 9 April 1998 at 40.1 degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature was recorded at Cameron Highlands on 1 February 1978 at 7.8 degrees Celsius. The highest rainfall recorded in a day was 608 mm in Kota Bharu, Kelantan on 6 January 1967. The highest rainfall recorded in a year was 5687mm at Sandakan, Sabah in 2006. Meanwhile, the lowest rainfall recorded in a year was 1151 mm at Tawau, Sabah in 1997.
The wettest place in Malaysia is Kuching, Sarawak with an average rainfall of 4128mm with 247 days of rain a year. The driest place in Malaysia is in Chuping, Perlis with average rainfall of only 1746mm a year.
Land
Mount Kinabalu, the highest point of Malaysia, is located in Sabah.
The total land area of Malaysia is 329,847 km², the 66th largest country in the world in terms of area. Peninsular Malaysia makes up 131,000 km² or 39.7%, while East Malaysia covers 198,847 km² or 60.3% of the total land of the country. About half of Peninsular Malaysia is covered by granite and other igneous rocks, a third more is covered by stratified rocks older than the granite, and the remainder is covered by alluvium. The terrain can be characterised as coastal plains which rises towards the hills and mountains.
From the total land area, 1,200 km² or 0.37% is made up of water such as lakes, rivers, or other internal waters. Malaysia has a total coastline of 4,675 km, whereby Peninsular Malaysia has 2,068 km, while East Malaysia has 2,607 km of coastline. Malaysia has the 29th longest coastline in the world.
Mountain ranges
The highest mountain range in Malaysia is the Crocker Range in Sabah. This range houses Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in the country, as well as Mount Tambuyukon, the third highest in the country. The Trus Madi Range, also in Sabah, houses Mount Trus Madi, the second highest peak in Malaysia. Bombalai Hill in Sabah is the only active volcano in Malaysia.
The main mountain range in Peninsular Malaysia is the Titiwangsa Mountains. It houses Mount Korbu, the second highest peak in the Peninsular. The highest peak in the Peninsular is Mount Tahan, located on the Tahan Range.
Forests
Malaysian forests can be categorised as tropical rainforest. This can be further divided into dipterocarp, swamps, and mangrove forest. Approximately 58.2% of Malaysian land is covered by forest.Some areas are designated as forest reserves, state parks, or national parks. The management of these reserves as under control of the Department of Wildlife and National Park, the Forest Department of Sarawak, the Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Foundation, and Sabah Parks. As of 2008, there are two World Heritage Sites under the natural category – Kinabalu National Park and Gunung Mulu National Park.
Islands
A beach on Redang Island in the South China Sea.
There are numerous islands found everywhere in Malaysia. The largest island is Banggi Island in Sabah, followed by Betruit Island in Sarawak, Langkawi in Kedah, and Penang Island in Penang. The largest island shared with another country is Borneo, followed by Sebatik Island. In addition, Malaysia lies within the world's coral reef distribution. The reefs can be usually found around islands such as Sipadan Island, Swallow Reef, and Redang Island.
Extreme points
The southernmost point of Malaysia is located in the district of Serian in Sarawak. Tanjung Piai on the southern tip of Johor is the southermost point in Peninsular. The easternmost point is found on the tip of Dent Peninsular in Lahad Datu district in Sabah. The northernmost point is found on the northern tip of Banggi Island. The westernmost point is found on the western tip of Pulau Langkawi in Kedah.
*source wikipedia