Timbun Mata Island ( ms, Pulau Timbun Mata) is the largest island on the south side of

Darvel Bay Darvel Bay or Lahad Datu Bay is a Bight (geography), bight (large bay) on the east side of Sabah, Malaysia. It is the largest semi-enclosed bay on the east coast of Borneo and faces the Sulawesi Sea. Administratively, it is within Tawau Division, ...

, in

Semporna Semporna ( ms, Pekan Semporna) is the capital of the Semporna District in the Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 35,301 in 2010. History Semporna was founded soon after the British North Borneo Ch ...

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It is over long and almost wide at the widest point. The island is mountainous and was formerly (pre-2000) densely wooded. Mt. Tannabalu, the highest point at , is a conical, extinct volcano located at the centre of the island. A secondary peak, Mt. Sedungal, at the east end of the island rises to . The south side of the island is only separated from the mainland by a shallow channel known as the Trusan Sigalong. It is located at with an area of .

History

The island has been inhabited since before records were kept. There are several villages on the island which have been there for at least several hundred years, Mantandak (in the west), Lakai Lakai (north), Dap Dap (northeast) and Kubor (east). In addition there are newer, illegal settlements which have sprung up on the southeastern portion of the island. The island was declared a forest reserve in 1930, but had been planted in teak as early as the 1880s. The teak forests have been periodically surveyed, but inroads by

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corruption, corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, o ...

and land clearing has reduced them.

References

United States Navy Publication 163, Chapter 10, prepared by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency
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Islands of Sabah {{Sabah-geo-stub

History

See also

References