Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/109

BORNEO 103 Lupar is another large stream which drains the Sarawak territory. Its embouchure, which is 4 m. wide, is near lat. 1 25' N. and Ion. 111 E. Flowing seaward from within the confines of the same state are the rivers Rejang and Bintulu. Further N. E., in Borneo proper, is the Limbang, Kadayan, or Brunai, with the capital of the kingdom, a town of 25,000 in- habitants, known as Brunai or Borneo, on its left bank. The island of Labuan lies just with- out the bay or gnlf into which it flows. Malu- du bay, which indents the most northern por- tion of Borneo, receives a stream said to flow out of Lake Kina-Balu, a sheet of water near the mountain of that name, the existence of which is positively asserted by the natives, but which has not been seen by any European. The principal rivers which enter the Celebes sea are the Bnlongan, which rises in the Anga- Anga range and flows eastward through the Sooloo dominions, reaching the coast near lat. 3 10' N., Ion. 117 30' E., and the Pantai, which has its sources in the same mountain group, and pursues a parallel course down to its mouth, which is about 2 N. of the equator. The only river of any considerable length which flows into Macassar strait is the Koti, a stream which waters the region bearing its own name, and which is fed by numerous affluents. Its general course is S. E., and its delta occupies the coast region from 10 to 50 m. S. of the equator. The Banjer is the chief of the rivers having their outlet in the Java sea on the 8. coast. It takes its rise near the middle of the island, and is a tortuous stream, flowing south- ward along or near the 115th parallel, and eventually separating into two branches, one of which is known as the Little Dayak river, the other and principal arm being the avenue to the important Dutch settlement of Banjer- Mouot Kina-Bftla. massin, which stands on its left bank. Other rivers on this coast are the Great Dayak, the Mendawi, the Sampit, the Pembuan, the Kotta- Waringen, and the Jelli. The great river of western Borneo is the Simpang, which drains the extensive region comprised between the peninsular range on the north and the western offshoot of the Anga-Anga mountains, portions of which are known as the Kaminting and Pembaringan ranges. Its general course is in a westerly direction almost under the equator, from its source in Ion. 114 10' E. to Ion. 109 20' E., where the Chinese town of Pon- tianak is situated on one of its main outlets just above the month. In 1823 a Dutch ex- pedition in search of gold and diamond fields explored this river for a distance of 300 m. in- land. The Sambas territory, further N., is watered by the Sambas river. The greater part of Borneo belongs to recent geological for- mations. The shallow seas which separate the island from Asia, and the resemblance between Bornean and Asiatic natural productions, indi- cate that at no very distant epoch the conti- nent extended further S. W. than at present, and included Borneo as well as Sumatra and Java. No trace of recent volcanic action has been observed in Borneo, though the island is almost surrounded by one of the most impor- tant belts of volcanoes in the world, near which earthquakes (also wholly unknown in Borneo) are of weekly or monthly occurrence. The island is notably rich in mineral productions, among which are diamonds, gold, antimony, coal, tin, iron, copper, and lead. Diamonds occur in the sand and gravel of the river beds, at depths from 6 to 15 ft. below the surface, and in strata occasionally several feet in thick-