Article

A preliminary account of the geology of Kelantan

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A preliminary account of the geology of Kelantan

H.E. Savage published this preliminary geological account of Kelantan in 1925, during the period of British administrative consolidation over the state. The article systematically maps the major rock series of the state and their spatial relationships, arguing that the geology of Kelantan is dominated by the Main Range granite and that the older pre-granite series (Raub, Chert, Pahang Volcanic, and Quartzite and Shale) are arranged in a broadly consistent structural pattern shaped by strong shearing associated with the granite intrusion.

Summary

Savage’s account proceeds through the principal geological units of Kelantan in order of decreasing age, from the pre-granite metamorphic and volcanic series to the granite itself, then to post-granite dykes and recent alluvial deposits. The central structural argument is that all rocks older than the granite exhibit strong shearing, and that the Chert Series—found only in the Ulu Sungei Lebir and Sungei Betis—occurs in districts where both Raub and Quartzite and Shale Series rocks are present and share the same strike and dip, suggesting the cherts are either the oldest members of the Quartzite and Shale Series or the youngest of the Raub Series (p. 67). This is a notable departure from the pattern described by Scrivenor for Ulu Pahang, where Pahang Volcanic Series rocks are “most numerous” in Raub country but only “sparingly” found with the Quartzite and Shale Series; in Kelantan, Savage observes that the volcanic ashes and lavas are interbedded with the Quartzite and Shale Series over a north-south extent of approximately 70 miles, with outcrops in the Sungei Lebir being far more abundant than those of the Quartzite and Shale Series themselves (p. 67).

The article is grounded entirely in Savage’s own field observations: outcrop descriptions, structural measurements (strike and dip readings), and petrographic descriptions of thin sections. He records the only fossils yet found in Kelantan—fern impressions from a single outcrop of Raub shales in the Sungei Chiku (p. 66)—and documents the spatial distribution of each series along the major rivers (Sungei Kelantan, Lebir, Galas, Sokor, Pergau, Betis, Nenggiri). The treatment of old gold and tin workings provides a brief economic-geological appendix, noting the historical significance of the Pulai settlement and the short-lived European gold-mining boom of 1904–1907.

Key Findings

  • The alluvial plain of northern Kelantan covers an area of more than 1,000 square miles, bounded by the China Sea to the north and east and the Sungei Golok to the north-west (p. 62).
  • The highest peaks recorded are Gunong Tahan (7,186 ft.) on the Pahang border and Gunong Yong Yap (7,090 ft.) on the Perak border; the Main Range granite forms the western boundary of the state (p. 62).
  • Pahang Volcanic Series rocks (rhyolites, andesites, dolerites, tuffs, and ashes) are interbedded with Quartzite and Shale Series rocks over a north-south extent of approximately 70 miles, with rhyolites predominant in the north and andesites in the south (p. 67).
  • European gold mining in Kelantan (c. 1904–1907) produced the greater part of the state’s gold exports in 1906–07, valued at approximately £25,000; the Duff Development Company at Ulu Liang exported auriferous-argentiferous lead ore to the value of $8,000 in 1907 (p. 72–73).
  • Monazite of good quality occurs in Kelantan; assays from 1915 yielded 5.3% and 9.4% thorium (p. 73).
  • A dyke of altered lamprophyre, 8 ft. wide, is intruded into limestone in the Sungei Sokor about 12½ miles above Kuala Liang; its strike (W.S.W./E.N.E.) is parallel to the trend of the Kemahang Spur and its dip (80° N.N.W.) is directed towards it, suggesting a genetic connection with that granite (p. 65).

Conclusion

Savage’s definitive contribution is the establishment of a coherent structural framework for Kelantan’s geology: the pre-granite series are arranged in a consistent pattern of strike and dip, are uniformly affected by strong shearing attributable to the Main Range granite intrusion, and the Chert Series occupies a transitional position between the Raub and Quartzite and Shale Series. The article is explicitly preliminary—no map was published with it, and several areas (particularly the relationship between the Chert Series and the two bounding series) are flagged for further investigation—but it provides the first systematic account of the state’s geology and sets the baseline against which later, more detailed surveys would be measured.

Context

  • Savage was a geologist working within the colonial administrative apparatus of Kelantan in the 1920s; the article’s structure (systematic treatment of rock series, economic-geological appendix on mining) reflects the standard format of colonial geological surveys intended to inform resource exploitation and infrastructure planning (e.g., the railway trace is repeatedly used as a reference line for outcrop locations).
  • The article draws on earlier colonial-era publications (Graham 1908, Stanley Low 1921, Swettenham, Waterstrad) and on Scrivenor’s memoir on Ulu Pahang, positioning Kelantan’s geology within the broader Peninsular framework established by the Geological Survey of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States.

References