1847.] including Notices of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, fyc. Mo 



extremities of the ranges. The most southern rivers, such as the Johore, 

 Sakadai, &c. which flow southward, would also bend to the east and 

 west, where the last system of the continent terminates and that of Singa- 

 pore begins, did they not meet with a depression so low as to be 

 accessible by the sea. 



Singapore is merely separated from the mainland by this depression, 

 which forms a narrow tortuous river-like arm of the sea, and is in fact 

 sunk into the continent and embraced by it on three sides, so that its 

 southern shore seems to be the proper continuation of the southern 

 coast of the Peninsula. Its geographical connection with it is there- 

 fore complete. When we cross the strait no difference in the topogra- 

 phy is observable. And the low hills which give the surface an undula- 

 ting appearance like that of Singapore, probably resemble those of the 

 latter in their internal structure as much as they do in the superjacent 

 soils and in the stunted jungle. The interior of the Peninsula is 

 almost wholly unexplored. In coasting along its western shore from 

 Pinangto Cape Rachado a high chain or rather series of ranges of moun- 

 tains is observed inland nearly the whole way, which from their general- 

 ly sharp-peaked summits, the nature of the detritus brought down from 

 them by the rivers, and the evidence afforded by the few points where 

 they have been reached, we are justified in believing to consist in great 

 measure of plutonic rocks. In front of this range we observe a broad 

 tract of country often appearing to be perfectly flat and very little above 

 the sea level for miles together, but from which sometimes low hills 

 rise like Islands out of the sea. These hills are frequently quite solita- 

 ry and at a great distance from the central mountains, or near the coast. 

 Further inland they seem to be generally in groups, and towards the 

 mountains the country at some places appears hilly and undulating. 

 At Malacca these low hills are so much grouped as to resemble some 

 parts of Singapore, and they are covered by gravel and fragments pre- 

 cisely similar to those found on some of the Singapore hills. In some 

 of the hills opposite Pinang I observed similar fragments. In both 

 cases the soil had a deep red ferruginous aspect.* That most of the 

 hills scattered along the western plains of the Peninsula were Islands 

 in the sea at no remote date, there can be no doubt. The plains from 



* Cape Rachado is described by Crawford to consisl of quartz rocks interspersed with 

 frequent veins of clay iron ore. 



4 B 2 



