Bukit Silam is an isolated small mountain on the east coast of Sabah. The soil is ultrabasic, rich in toxic minerals such as nickel, which means that the land is not suitable either for forestry or for agriculture. Ultrabasic soils support a very distinct flora compared with the normal soils in Borneo. This photo was taken from the viewpoint on Bukit Silam looking south east over Darvel Bay (new name Telok Lahad Datu). Note also that geographers have difficulty in deciding if Silam is a small mountain (Gunung) or large hill (Bukit) so the name varies on different maps.
