The Meratus Mountains is a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
in the
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n province of
South Kalimantan
South Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Selatan) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is the smallest province in Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory of Borneo. The provincial capital was Banjarmasin until 15 February 2022 when it wa ...
; it is located on
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
island. The mountains run in a north-south arc that divides South Kalimantan province into two almost equal parts. Its highest peak is
Mount Besar
Mount Besar (, means: ''Big Mountain'') is a stratovolcano in the southeast of Sumatra, Indonesia. A minor sulfur deposit can be found in the Volcanic crater, crater. A big solfatara field called Marga Bayur is located along its north-south-west f ...
with 1,892 metres.
The mountains are inhabited by the "semi-nomadic"
Meratus Dayak
The Meratus Dayak inhabit the Meratus Mountains of South Kalimantan, Indonesia. The Banjar Kuala people would refer the Meratus people as Urang Baiju or Dayak Baiju, as they consider them to be the same as the Ngaju people. While the Banjar ...
people.
In the 1990s the
Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation reintroduced 350
orangutan
Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...
s into the protected Meratus and Sungai Wain forests. Due to extensive deforestation the ecosystem of the mountains, including many flora and fauna species are endangered. Traditional Dayak villages are also disappearing.
Borneo Orang Utan Help Project
(German)
References
Mountain ranges of Indonesia
Landforms of South Kalimantan
Landforms of Kalimantan
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