Case Study of Lata Iskandar Waterfall

What is a waterfall?

A waterfall is usually a geological formation resulting from water, often in the form of a stream, flowing over an erosion-resistant rock formation that forms a nickpoint, or sudden break in elevation.

Some waterfalls form in mountain environments in which the erosive water force is high and stream courses may be subject to sudden and catastrophic change. In such cases, the waterfall may not be the end product of many years of water action over a region, but rather the result of relatively sudden geological processes such as landslides, faults or volcanic action. In cold places, snow will build up in winter and melt and turn into a waterfall in summer.

How is the Lata Iskandar Waterfall formed?

However the Lata Iskandar Waterfall that we visited was not formed by faulting but resulting from a stream flowing over an erosion-resistant rock formation that forms a sudden break in elevation.

Do you think this diagram is an accurate description of the Lata Iskandar Waterfall?

Or is this a better diagram to show the formation of the Lata Iskanda Waterfall?




What type of waterfall is the Lata Iskanda Waterfall?




The Lata Iskandar Waterfall is a cascade waterfall where water descends a series of rock steps.

Cascade waterfalls have a small volume of water.

A series of falls may form one waterfall.







How are the load of a river transported?

Material which has been eroded from river banks is transported down the river in a variety of ways. The material may include pebbles, stones, boulders, tree branches and leaves. There are several types of transportation:

Flotation.
Materials such trees and branches are carried on the surface of the water. If there is a boulder or other large object in the way, then they can get stuck or be deposited behind this object.

Suspension.
Very small particles are carried in the water. They are usually deposited in the lower course where the flow of water becomes very slow.

Solution.
Very small particles of sediment dissolve in the water. Rivers which carry a lot of sediment in suspension may have brown water.

Saltation.
Small pebbles and rocks bounce along the river bed. In turn, they can loosen other small sediments.

Traction.
Small pebbles and large boulder are rolled along the river bed.
Sediments are carried along the river, provided the river has enough energy to carry them. Fast-flowing rivers in their upper course usually have the most energy. Most sediment is eroded and transported here. When a river loses energy or slows down, then the sediment is deposited.


Based on the above description, what kind of load do you think is found at the Lata Iskandar Waterfall?



How do you think this kind of load is transported?





Study the phtography carefully. Do you think any transportation is has taken place at all? Explian your reasons.



















Final Group Photo before we depart the Iskandar Waterfall.

Case study of the Orang Asli

We visited an Orang Asli settlement on our way up Cameron Highlands. We discovered some interesting facts and features about them.

Who are the Orang Asli?

The Orang Asli are the indigenous minority peoples of Peninsular Malaysia.


The name is a Malay term which transliterates as 'original peoples' or 'first peoples.'



It is a collective term introduced by anthropologists for the 18 sub-ethnic groups generally classified for official purposes under Negrito, Senoi and Proto-Malay. They numbered 105,000 in 1997 representing a mere 0.5 per cent of the national population.



This group of Orang Asli live close to forested areas. Here they engage in swiddening (hill rice cultivation) and do some hunting and gathering. They also trade in petai, durian, rattan and resins to earn cash incomes.

Orang Asli are traditionally animists, where they believe in the presence of spirits in various objects. However, in the 21st century, many of them have embraced monotheistic religions such as Islam and Christianity following some active state-sponsored dakwah by Muslims, and evangelism by Christian missionaries.

(How do you know that this group of Orang Asli has embraced Christianity?)


How do the Orang Asli look like?
The Orang Asli are divided into three main tribal groups – Semang (negrito), Senoi, and Proto-Malay (Aboriginal Malay).


Many Senoi live in the Cameron Highlands. They just look like Malaysians, although the dark ones look like Negrito's. Originally they must have come from the hills in Vietnam, Cambodia or Northern Thailand, about 6000 - 8000 years ago.

In Cameron Highlands some of the Senoi live as wage-earners, working on the highland tea estates. Others have obtained jobs as varied as government employees and taxi drivers



How do the Orang Asli hunt?

The Orang Asli ( mostly Negrito),who live in the jungle, hunt with blowpipes for birds and little monkeys. The blowpipe is made from bamboo.

The mouth piece is made from damar, a resin obtained from the dipterocarp trees. Darts are made from the split leaf-stalks of Arenga palm cone


The tip is coated with a lethal preparation made from the sap of the lpol tree (Antiaris toxicaria) and carried in a carefully closed bamboo tube.
As for the windage, a soft fluffy "wool' is made from as kind of bark. Blowpipe is deadly accurate within 20 meters.




Why are their house built on stilts?


At night,90% of the rain forest inhabitant come out to play,eat and sometimes cause trouble. Snakes, poisonous insects, army ants, scorpions, hungry mammals, all roam the forest floor by nightfall and sue heat seeking sensors and night vision to home on their preys.

This is why the Orang Asli always build their huts on stilts, never on bare ground.




Bamboo strips are used as walls and windows.

Some part of the roof are made from bertam palm leaves while the rest are made from zine.



A typical Orang Asli hut is divided into two sections -- one for sleeping and the other for cooking.


They have no need for lobby or dining room.


Although enclosed, the interior is usually airy because ventilation takes place between grooves and gaps of walls and floors made from bamboo strips.

There is always a fireplace where mud pad insulation protects bamboo flooring from damage.



Here, Ms Farida is interviewing the settlement
headman who could speak in Malay. It was a rare opportunity for us the gather some oral history evidence right from the horse's mouth



At the end of the visit, the Orang Asli and our students took a group photo.


Reflection Questions

1. Do you think that the Orang Asli standard of living is better or worst then those living in Kuala Lumpur?

2. Do you agree that although the Orang Asli has a lower standard of living, their quality of life is higher then those in Singapore?

3. Do you think that their way of life will be destroyed when tourist like us visit them?

4.. Tourism for the Orang Asli : Boom or a Bane?

CLick the video below to see an interview that Mdm Feridah has with an Orang Asli mum.