Main Geological Highlight & Other Elements

Granitic pluton of Mount Kinabalu seen from Kundasang. The hilly foreground is made up of sedimentary rocks of the Crocker Formation while the flat area in front is made up of glacial deposits of the Pinousuk Gravels. The 2015 Ranau Earthquake left landslide-scarred rock face on Mount Kinabalu.

Tight folded very thin red chert layers (130 million years old) sitting on pillow basalt (greyish blue) exposed on a narrow gorge along Sungai Baliojong River in Tandek, Kota Marudu. This rock sequence represents an ancient oceanic crust from the proto-South China Sea lithosphere.

Geological map of Mount Kinabalu area showing the distribution of rock units and major tectonic structures. The granite pluton intrudes into the accreted Mesozoic ophiolitic basement rock and overlying Paleogene turbidite sediments. Tilloid deposits of the Pinousuk Gravel occur on the southeastern part of the mountain.

Glacial erosion landforms at the Mount Kinabalu plateau showing cirque, remnant peaks and striated surfaces.

Parallel grooves on Mount Kinabalu granite face left by glacial erosion during the melting of ice around 10,000 years ago. The grooves seen at Panalaban indicate the glacial paleo-movement.