Darvel Bay or Lahad Datu Bay is a 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, with Lahad Datu District on the north side, Kunak District in the middle and Semporna District to the south of the bay.
In geography, a bight is a bend or curve in a coastline, river, or other geographical feature. It typically indicates a large, open bay, often only slightly receding. It is distinguished from a sound by being shallower. Traditionally, explorers defined a bight as a bay that could be sailed out of on a single tack in a square-rigged sailing vessel, regardless of the direction of the wind.
Both headland and bay are two coastal features that are related and often found on the same coastline. A bay is a body of water—usually seawater and sometimes fresh water— mostly surrounded by land, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by breaking waves, rocky shores, intense erosion and steep sea cliffs. Bays generally have less wave activity and typically have sandy beaches. Headlands and bays form on discordant coastlines, where the land consists of bands of rock of alternating resistance that run perpendicular to the coast.
Sabah is a state of Malaysia located on the northern portion of Borneo Island. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's Kalimantan region to the south. The Federal Territory of Labuan is an island just off the Sabah coast. Sabah shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the west and the Philippines to the north and east. Kota Kinabalu is the state capital city, the economic centre of the state and the seat of the Sabah state government. Other major towns in Sabah include Sandakan and Tawau. As of the 2015 census in Malaysia, the state's population is 3,543,500. Sabah has an equatorial climate with tropical rainforests and abundant animal and plant species. The state has long mountain ranges on the west side which form part of the Crocker Range National Park. Kinabatangan River, second longest river in Malaysia runs through Sabah and Mount Kinabalu is the highest point of Sabah as well as of Malaysia.
Large parts of the shore of Darval Bay are mangrove swamps. [1] Within the bay there are numerous islands, the largest, Timbun Mata Island, is located near the southern shore.
The area around Darvel Bay has been inhabited for over 20,000 years. [2] The limestone caves on the mainland and on the islands were used for prehistoric burials. [2]
Darvel Bay was a traditional haunt for pirates up to the end of the 19th century. [3] Among the most famous pirates was Datu Kudunding. [4] The British operated the Darvel Bay Tobacco Plantations Ltd, in Lahad Datu District which was immortalized in the documentary film Urban Bioscope Expedition through Borneo by H. M. Lomas. [5]
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.
Coordinates: 4°48′N118°39′E / 4.800°N 118.650°E
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.
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The Sultanate of Sulu was a Muslim state that ruled the islands in the Sulu Archipelago, parts of Mindanao, certain portions of Palawan and north-eastern Borneo.
Lahad Datu is the capital of the Lahad Datu District in the Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 27,887 in 2010. The town is surrounded by stretches of cocoa and palm oil plantations. It is also an important timber exporting port. The town has an airport for domestic flights.
Sandakan formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest town in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the east coast of the state in the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo. The town has an estimated population of 157,330 while the surrounding municipal area has a total population of 396,290.
Tawau formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Tawau District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest town in Sabah, after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. It is located on the south east coast of the state in the administrative centre of Tawau Division which bordered by the Sulu Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south at Cowie Bay and shares a border with North Kalimantan. The town had an estimated population as of 2010 of 113,809, while the whole municipality area had a population of 397,673.
Tawau Division is one of the five administrative sub-divisions of Sabah, Malaysia. It occupies a total of 14,905 square kilometres or 20% of Sabah's territory. The main towns include the capital of Tawau, Lahad Datu, Kunak and Semporna. Tawau division has 26% of Sabah's total population, with the main indigenous groups consisting of Bajau, Suluk, Paskistani, Indian, Arab, Ida'an, Tidong, Cocos, Murut, Lun Bawang/Lun Dayeh as well a minority of mixed ethnic groups. A large numbers of illegal immigrants from Indonesia such as Buginese and Tators, from East Timor the Timorese and from the Philippines the Tausūg and Visayans can be found on this area. As with the rest of Sabah, the division also have a large numbers of ethnic Chinese.
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.
The Tabin Wildlife Reserve is a nature preserve in Sabah, Malaysia. It was created in 1984 to preserve Sabah’s disappearing wild animals. Occupying a large part of the peninsula forming the northern headland of Darvel Bay, it is located 48 kilometres east of Lahad Datu.
The Ida'an people are an ethnic group of Borneo, residing primarily in the Lahad Datu districts on the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. Their current population is estimated to be around 6,000, but it appears that they once inhabited a much larger area along the east Sabah coast than present. For centuries, the Ida’an have owned exclusive rights to the collection of edible bird's nests in the limestone caves of the region, notably the Madai Caves. Most Ida'an are Muslim, but a small sub-group called the Bega'ak have been converted to Christianity recently, but some of them remains animist.
The Iranun are a Moro ethnic group native to Mindanao, Philippines, and the west coast of Sabah.
The Borneo Post, established in 1978, is the largest and widest read English newspaper daily in East Malaysia.
The Orang Sungai are a group of indigenous people native to the state of Sabah, Malaysia. Groups of communities live along the rivers of Kinabatangan, Paitan, Labuk, Kudat and Lahad Datu. The name "Orang Sungai" is a collective term that was first coined during the colonial British rule for communities living along the Kinabatangan River. In some cases like the Tambanuo people would refer to themselves as Orang Sungai for those who are Muslims; unless if they are not Muslims, then they would identify themselves by their tribal name. Whereas tribes like the Ida'an people are sometimes regarded as part of the Orang Sungai historically because of their common linguistic origins.
Tabawan Island or Tabauawan is the highest and largest of a group of heavily wooded islands lying in the southwest quadrant of Darvel Bay, Sabah. It has dual volcanic peaks, and is 275 metres at its highest point. On the south side of the island there is a small bay, or inlet, quite deep, at 25 to 35 metres. It is about 7.25 kilometres from Sebatik Island, which lies to the southeast. For decades, the pearl farm of the island has safeguarded nearby waters to keep thieves and trespassers away.
The history of Sabah can be traced back to about 23–30,000 years ago when evidence suggests the earliest human settlement in the region existed. The history is interwoven with the history of Brunei and the history of Malaysia, to which Sabah was previously part of and is currently part of respectively. The earliest recorded history of Sabah being part of any organised civilisation began in the early 15th century during the thriving era of the Sultanate of Brunei. Prior to this, early inhabitants of the land lived in predominantly tribal societies, although such tribal societies had continued to exist until the 1900s. The eastern part of Sabah was ceded to the Sultan of Sulu by the Sultan of Brunei in 1658 for the former helping a victory over Brunei enemies, but many sources stated it had not been ceded at all. By the late 19th century, both territories previously owned by Sultan of Brunei and Sultan of Sulu was granted to British syndicate and later emerged as British North Borneo under the management of the North Borneo Chartered Company. Sabah became a protectorate of the United Kingdom in 1888 and subsequently became a Crown colony from 1946 until 1963, during which time it was known as Crown Colony of North Borneo. On 16 September 1963, Sabah merged with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore to form the Federation of Malaysia.
The 2013 Lahad Datu standoff was a military conflict that started on 11 February 2013 and fully ended on 24 March 2013. The standoff arose after 235 militants, some of whom were armed, arrived by boats in Lahad Datu District, Sabah, Malaysia from Simunul island, Tawi-Tawi, in the southern Philippines, on 11 February 2013. The group, calling themselves the "Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo", was sent by Jamalul Kiram III, one of the claimants to the throne of the Sultanate of Sulu.
The 1985 Lahad Datu ambush is a series of robbery and random shootings that occurred on 23 September 1985 when 15-20 armed foreign pirates landed on the coast of Lahad Datu and stormed in the town. The pirates shot at random targets, killing at least 21 people and injuring 11 others, and stole some $200,000 from a local bank as well as another $5,000 from the Malaysia Airlines office.
Operation Agas was a series of reconnaissance operations carried out by Australia's Z Special Unit during World War II. This operation was the part of the Borneo Campaign at North Borneo. Another closely related operation codenamed Semut was carried out in Sarawak. Both operations combined and relayed their intelligence through the STALLION project to Australian forces and carried out guerilla warfares against the Japanese in the region with the full support of the natives.
The Kunak District is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Tawau Division which includes the districts of Kunak, Lahad Datu, Semporna and Tawau. The capital of the district is in Kunak Town.
The Lahad Datu District is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Tawau Division which includes the districts of Kunak, Lahad Datu, Semporna and Tawau. The capital of the district is in Lahad Datu Town.
The Semporna District is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Tawau Division which includes the districts of Kunak, Lahad Datu, Semporna and Tawau. The capital of the district is in Semporna Town.
The Tawau District is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Tawau Division which includes the districts of Kunak, Lahad Datu, Semporna and Tawau. The capital of the district is in Tawau Town.