The Langkawi Geopark, comprising all of the 99 islands in the Langkawi archipelago is Malaysia’s first geopark. It is located in the northwestern corner of peninsular Malaysia within the State of Kedah. The total land area of Langkawi Geopark is about 478 square kilometres.The main island is accessible by sea from Kuala Perlis , Kuala Kedah and Penang or by air from Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singapore.
Identified as the 'birthplace' or fetus land of the region, the terrain and natural landscape reflect the geo-diversity of the islands that is deeply entrenched within the complex geological history of the area. Langkawi Geopark has the best-exposed and most complete Palaeozoic sedimentary sequence in Malaysia originating from the beginning of the Cambrian to the Permian period. Later, during the Mesozoic era, the islands underwent a major tectonic even that resulted in the emplacement of its numerous granitic igneous bodies. This incredible power generated by nature from deep beneath the earth's mantle had pushed up huge blocks of older rocks and placed them above a very much younger terrain.
In Langkawi geological history, much of the development is linked to events that occurred during the time of the prehistoric supercontinent of Pangaea and the southern hemispheric Gondwanaland more than 550 million years ago. It probably began with the deposition of the Machinchang sandstone in a lacustrine environment during much of the Cambrian time. This was followed by the submergence of the land during the late Cambrian period (~500m.y.), which saw the invasion of shallow marine fauna into the seas around Langkawi. The continuous subsidence of the sea floor resulted in the formation of thick limestone of what is known as the Setul Formation during the Ordovician period ( `440m.y.), at the end of which the sea became too deep, causing the limestone deposition to cease.The Setul limestone continued to develop from the Silurian until the Middle Devonian ( ~370 m.y.) period, followed by the deposition of sandstone and mudstone - an occurrence that is related to the rafted ice during the melting of the Gondwana ice cap.
The Chuping limestone is believed to have stopped depositing before the end of the Permian era (~245 m.y.) by this tectonic event that among others had brought up a large block of earth crust in the eastern part of Langkawi and overlapping the much younger block in the west. The tectonic event ended with the emplacement of granite beneath the Langkawi crust at the end of the Triassic (`220 m.y.) era. The black sandstone and mudstone of the Singa Formation evolved during the early Permian era (~280 m.y), before the sea level was slowly brought up by a complicated tectonic process.
What we have in Langkawi today are the combined results of these processes. The prolonged weathering that took place ever since the land mass of Langkawi was brought to the surface around 220 million years ago has produced a beautiful mountainous range of Machinchang sandstone at the northwestern corner, the conical Gunung Raya granite at the center and a rugged terrain of Setul limestone in the east. In the southwest, the Singa Formation dominates, while the Chuping limestone found itself in the western part of Pulau Dayang Bunting. Some of the landscapes are truly outstanding, particularly those of the Machinchang and the karstic limestone in the eastern part of Langkawi.Based on its outstanding geological landscape and other associated features such as the sedimentary structures, fossils and erosional effects, Langkawi certainly is geological heritage of high value.The Langkawi islands are mainly protected under the jurisdiction of the Permanent Forest Reserves, Recreational Forest or Geoforest Park that are overseered by the Forestry Department.
Identified as the 'birthplace' or fetus land of the region, the terrain and natural landscape reflect the geo-diversity of the islands that is deeply entrenched within the complex geological history of the area. Langkawi Geopark has the best-exposed and most complete Palaeozoic sedimentary sequence in Malaysia originating from the beginning of the Cambrian to the Permian period. Later, during the Mesozoic era, the islands underwent a major tectonic even that resulted in the emplacement of its numerous granitic igneous bodies. This incredible power generated by nature from deep beneath the earth's mantle had pushed up huge blocks of older rocks and placed them above a very much younger terrain.
In Langkawi geological history, much of the development is linked to events that occurred during the time of the prehistoric supercontinent of Pangaea and the southern hemispheric Gondwanaland more than 550 million years ago. It probably began with the deposition of the Machinchang sandstone in a lacustrine environment during much of the Cambrian time. This was followed by the submergence of the land during the late Cambrian period (~500m.y.), which saw the invasion of shallow marine fauna into the seas around Langkawi. The continuous subsidence of the sea floor resulted in the formation of thick limestone of what is known as the Setul Formation during the Ordovician period ( `440m.y.), at the end of which the sea became too deep, causing the limestone deposition to cease.The Setul limestone continued to develop from the Silurian until the Middle Devonian ( ~370 m.y.) period, followed by the deposition of sandstone and mudstone - an occurrence that is related to the rafted ice during the melting of the Gondwana ice cap.
The Chuping limestone is believed to have stopped depositing before the end of the Permian era (~245 m.y.) by this tectonic event that among others had brought up a large block of earth crust in the eastern part of Langkawi and overlapping the much younger block in the west. The tectonic event ended with the emplacement of granite beneath the Langkawi crust at the end of the Triassic (`220 m.y.) era. The black sandstone and mudstone of the Singa Formation evolved during the early Permian era (~280 m.y), before the sea level was slowly brought up by a complicated tectonic process.
What we have in Langkawi today are the combined results of these processes. The prolonged weathering that took place ever since the land mass of Langkawi was brought to the surface around 220 million years ago has produced a beautiful mountainous range of Machinchang sandstone at the northwestern corner, the conical Gunung Raya granite at the center and a rugged terrain of Setul limestone in the east. In the southwest, the Singa Formation dominates, while the Chuping limestone found itself in the western part of Pulau Dayang Bunting. Some of the landscapes are truly outstanding, particularly those of the Machinchang and the karstic limestone in the eastern part of Langkawi.Based on its outstanding geological landscape and other associated features such as the sedimentary structures, fossils and erosional effects, Langkawi certainly is geological heritage of high value.The Langkawi islands are mainly protected under the jurisdiction of the Permanent Forest Reserves, Recreational Forest or Geoforest Park that are overseered by the Forestry Department.
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