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flow into the Cbina Sea having bars at their mouths, though 
sometimes, like the Sarawak, deep enough for local steamers. 
The short river or estuary of Brunei is an exception, for it might 
easily be made navigable by large ships for 15 miles, and has 
been called, on that account, *'the most usefulriver of the island/* 
Borneo is entirely surrounded by a shallow sea of under 50 
fathoms, and its coast thus enjoys tolerable calm in both mon- 
soons. Of the interior regions of the island, a great part has 
been only partially explored, so that the physical features can- 
not be given with much precision and detail The centre of 
the island seems to be occupied by a kind of table-land, with 
which the principal chains of mountains connect themselves. 
The largest of these is the Kelingkang range, parts of which 
are known by various local names. It traverses Borneo from 
Tanjong Datu in the West to Kina Balu m the North- 
East, in a line with the high ranges of the Philippines, further 
North ; while from the central region other ridges extend 
South (Kaminting) and South-East (MerAtu) towards the 
eastern angle, enclosing wide lowlands. These, if the sea were 
gaming on the land, instead of the reverse, would some day 
become gulfs like those of the adjacent island of Celebes. " 
Mount Kina 'Balu (said to be 13,698 feet high) in the ex- 
treme northern corner of the island is, if it is really of that 
height, which has been doubted, the highest summit, not only 
of Borneo, but of the whole Archipelago, except perhaps the 
unvisited snowy peaks of New Guinea. 
The island, which is abundantly supplied with rivers, may 
be physically divided into five principal versants. The least 
wide lies to the North along the China Sea, and supplies Sa- 
rawak and Briinei. Its important rivers are the Sarawak, the 
