| Crocker Mountains | |
|---|---|
 Crocker Mountains as seen from Ranau–Tamparuli Road | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Mount Kinabalu |
| Elevation | 4,095 m (13,435 ft) |
| Coordinates | 5°45′N116°30′E / 5.750°N 116.500°E /5.750; 116.500 |
| Naming | |
| Etymology | William Maunder Crocker[1] |
| Native name | Banjaran Crocker (Malay) |
| Geography | |
  Crocker Mountains Map showing location of Crocker Mountain range within Malaysia | |
| Country | Malaysia |
| State | Sabah |
| Region | West Coast,Interior andKudat divisions |
| Districts | Keningau,Papar,Penampang,Ranau,Tambunan,Kota Belud,Kota Marudu,Tuaran andKota Kinabalu |
TheCrocker Mountains (Malay:Banjaran Crocker) form arange that separates theWest Coast andInterior divisions ofSabah,Malaysia. At an average height of 1,800 metres (5,906 ft), it is the highest mountain range in the state. It is named after a 19th century British administrator ofNorth Borneo,William Maunder Crocker.[2][3][4]
The mountain range is made up of uplifted and foldedsedimentary rocks consisting of weathered softsandstones andshales.[5][6] The highest point isMount Kinabalu at 4,095 metres (13,435 ft) .[7][8] Most of the park boundary lies above 300 metres (984 ft) with its lowlands used forcash crops andpaddy field.[8] On the eastern side of the mountain range lies the Tambunan Valley at 800 metres (2,625 ft) which is mainlyterraced paddy fields, and groves ofbamboo border the north-eastern part of the protected park.[8] The park area is important as awater catchment to supply water to various rivers in the west coast and interior districts of Sabah including thePapar River, the Kimanis River, the Bongawan River, the Membakut River, thePadas River and the Melalap River that flow west to the park while the Pegalan River, the Pampang River, the Apin-Apin River, the Tendulu River, the Melalap River, the Liawan River and the Tikalod River flow in the opposite direction.[8]
The area surroundingMount Kinabalu has been a state park since 1964 and was the country's firstWorld Heritage Site.[9] Part of the mountain range has been gazetted for protection asCrocker Range National Park since 1984.[10] Through the Bornean Biodiversity and Ecosystems Conservation Programme (BBEC), a technical co-operation existed between thegovernment of Sabah and theJapan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to innovate the Community Use Zone (CUZ) concept as a management option to address the issues concerning indigenous communities living and utilising resources within the protected areas.[11] Mount Kinabalu, one of the highest mountains inSoutheast Asia, is a part of this mountain range. In 2014, the range was recognised as aUNESCO Biosphere Reserve, becoming the second Malaysian site to be so designated, afterChini Lake in the state ofPahang on thepeninsular side.[12][13][14]
The Crocker Mountains Forest Reserve area has a wide range offloral andfaunal diversity and has the highest diversity ofnocturnal insects in all the 20 forest reserves surveyed within theHeart of Borneo area in Sabah; it has recorded a number of endemic species.[8][15][16]
Media related toCrocker Mountain Range at Wikimedia Commons