Geography
Malaysia is in Southeastern Asia. It has two prominent parts, the first is the Peninsular Malaysia located in the west and the other section is called East Malaysia. The Peninsular is situated in the south of Thailand, north of Singapore and east of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The other main section is East Malaysia and it is located on the island of Borneo which shares land borders with Brunei and Indonesia.
The coastline of Malaysia is 4,675 km, the Peninsular Malaysia is 2,068 km and East Malaysia has 2,607 km. The land boundaries are 2,669km, the total numbers of the entire country is 329,750 km², the water mass is 1,200 km² and land is 328,550 km². The lowest elevation of Malaysia is the Indian Ocean which is zero and the highest elevation of the country is Mount Kinabalu which is 4,095m. The terrain of this country is coastal plains with rising hills and mountains. The natural resources of the land are tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas and bauxite.
In every country different portions of the land are used fro different things in Malaysia it is no different. The amount of arable land is about three percent, the amount of land used for permanent crops is twelve percent, the amount of land used for permanent pastures are zero percent. The portion of land that is mainly forests and wooded areas are sixty eight percent. The other seventeen percent is other miscellaneous uses. About 2,900 km² of the land is irrigated land that was established in 1998.
Like any land mass there are bound to be environmental repercussions. In the country of Malaysia there is flooding and landslides. As well as air pollution that comes from the industrial sections of the country and from the car emissions as well. Water pollution is another concern; the pollution comes from the raw sewage that is released without proper storage. Then Malaysia because it is sixty eight percent wooded comes the concern for deforestation which usually happens from the smoke and haze not from Malaysian fires but from Indonesian Forest fires.
Most countries are involved in what is called an international agreements, these are agreements made by countries all around the world that promise to preserve the environment with such agencies as Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, the Law of the Sea, marine Life Conservation and Nuclear Test Ban. With other countries cooperation we can possible salvage the planet and each other’s countries.
The Straits of Malacca which are located between the Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra is the most important shipping lane in the entire world. It is very important not only in Malaysia but the rest of world also depends upon it as well. Malaysia is also home to major cities such as Georgetown, Ipoh, Johor, Bahru, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Alor Star and Malacca Town. Malaysia is more than forests and wooded lands as some people may think. It is not desolate or a third world country. Malaysia is very important in resources and as we have pointed out in geography as well.
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