MALAY PENINSULA (Malay, Tanah Malayu, or Malay Land), a long strip of land extending from Indo-China south and southeast toward the island. of Sumatra, the most south erly part of the Asiatic continent. The penin sula begins properly at the head of the Gulf of Siam, and would thus include part of Siam proper and the British province of Tenasserim; but it is usual to limit the name to the portion south of the river Pakshan, the frontier of Tenasserim. In the larger sense, the length of the peninsula is about 870 miles long and its area 83,000 square miles; the population is estimated at about 2,000,000. The width varies from 45 miles to 210. The interior consists mainly of magnificent wooded granite moun tain ranges, some of whose peaks attain a height of 7,000 feet; while along the coast there is almost everywhere a flat and fertile belt, fringed with numerous islands. There are numerous small rivers. The mean annual temperature near the sea is about 80°. There is no winter, but rains are frequent through the year. The humidity of the climate renders it very trying to foreigners. Tigers and leo pards are numerous and of great size. The Indian elephant, the rhinoceros and several species of monkeys are found; also the vam pire bat, poisonous snakes and many beautiful and brilliant birds. Tin abounds and is largely worked. Silver and gold are also found in paying quantities. There are over 40 varieties of palm in the peninsula and the vegetation is that of the luxuriant tropical kind. In physical features the peninsula resembles rather the islands of Sumatra and Java than Indo-China.
The inhabitants are mainly Siamese in the north, civilized Malays (q.v.) along the ccast and uncivilized Malays, mixed with aboriginal Negrito tribes, in the interior. Politically, the northern part of the peninsula is occupied by small states tributary to Siam (as far south as 5° N.) ; the southern part by Malay states under British protection (as Perak, Salangor, Negri Sembilan, and Pahang, known as the Federated Malay States) and the British Crown colony of the Straits Settlements, comprising Singapore, Malacca and Penang. (For the com merce, industries, education, transportation facilities of the peninsula see articles on the individual states or groups of states, as FEDER ATED MALAY STATES; BURMA; PERAK; PAHANG; SINGAPORE; STRAITS SETTLEMENT). Consult Bishop, 'The Golden Chersonese) (London 1883); Clifford, Hugh, 'Studies in Brown Hu manity' (ib. 1898) ; id., 'In a Corner of Asia' (ib. 1899) ; Lucas, 'Historical Geography of the British Colonies' (Oxford 1894) ; Rathbone, 'Camping and Tramping in Malay) (ib. 1898) ; Skeat, W. W., 'Malay Magic: An Introduc tion to the Folklore and Popular Religion of the Malay Peninsula' (ib. 1900) ; Skeat and Blagden, 'Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula' (New York 1906) : Oldham, W. F., 'India, Malaysia and the Philippines) (ib. 1914) ; Wright and Reid, 'Malay Peninsula) (ib. 1912).