River in lowland rainforest, Danum Valley, Borneo
A primeval forest in a narrow gorge in northern Borneo shows why some naturalists comparing the architecture of forests on different continents have called those of Southeast Asia the most majestic. Their stately appearance is accentuated by towering dipterocarp trees that reach heights of 200 feet. The lowland jungles of northern Borneo fit the classic definition of tropical rainforests, which exist in a ragged belt around the Equator, roughly between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, in places where mean monthly temperatures exceed 75ºF and at least four feet of rain falls annually. |
