Pahang River

Pahang River or (Sungai Pahang in Malay) is a river in the state of Pahang, Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula. With 459 km in length, it is the longest river on the Malay Peninsula. The river begins at the confluence of Jelai and Tembeling rivers on the Titiwangsa Mountains and drains into the South China Sea.

River course
From the mountainous upper reaches of Mount Tahan (2187 m) or locally called Gunung Tahan, it meanders in a south-easterly direction, passing Kuala Lipis, Temerloh, Chenor, Mengkarak and turning east at Lepar into the floodplain of Pekan, Kuala Pahang and drains in the South China Sea.

History
The banks of Pahang River was settled as early as 1400 by warriors and seafarers from around the Malay Archipelago such as Aceh, Riau, Palembang and Sulawesi, forming settlements. The earliest historical records of Pahang River, the riverine habitants or the people of Pahang were found in the Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) and Hikayat Munshi Abdullah.

Historical Sites of Pahang River
Many historical sites can be found along Pahang River. Among the sites is Makam Lubuk Pahang. This tomb is situated near to Kampung Jeranggang. This burial site consists of the tombs of Sultan Abdul Jamil, Datuk Budiman and Puteri Buluh Betong, the consort of Sultan Abdul Jamil. Their death were associated with attacks from Aceh in 1617. Sultan Abdul Jamil and Datuk Budiman were killed by Seri Mahkota Alam from Aceh. The bodies of Sultan Abdul Jamil and Datuk Budiman were buried side by side with their heads facing the Pahang River. Sultan Abdul Jamil's tomb is on the right whereas Datuk Budiman is on the left of the Sultan's tomb. Puteri Buluh Betong was buried at the foot of their tombs.
A fortress and a castle, which was mentioned in "Sejarah Melayu", described as Kota Biram or Kota Pahang (Buyong Adli 1984, 26), was completely destroyed. On that site, a building for the British Resident was erected. It was later converted into a palace for the Sultan. Now it is the Sultan Abu Bakar Muzium.

Environmental History: Pahang River was connected with Thailand, Vietnam and Borneo
During the Pleistocene epoch or Mesolithic period about 10,000 years ago, there was a 5 degrees Celsius drop in the global temperature. At mountaintops, rainfall as snow and accumulated as huge icy sheets (including Mount Kinabalu), thus making a break in the global hydrological cycle. Due to lack of water discharge into the sea, there was a 120-meter drop of sea levels from the present time. The South China Sea dried up, exposing the Sunda Shelf and previous deep trenches became huge ancient rivers called the North Sunda River.
Asian Mainland, Malay Peninsular, Sumatra and Java became connected to Borneo via the landbridge of exposed Sunda Shelf. The North Sunda River provided vital connection to Mekong River in Vietnam and Chao Phraya River in Thailand to the north, Baram and Rajang rivers in Sarawak to the east and Pahang River and Rompin River to the west of the massive land mass. Freshwater catfishes from those rivers migrated and mated to exchange their genetic materials about 10,000 years ago. Thus, after the Holocene, when the temperature increased, the landbridges and Sunda River were inudated and the catfish populations were isolated. However, their genetic motives are still in the DNA as an evidence of the previous connections of Pahang River to other isolated rivers in Indochina and Borneo.

Towns along the river
Jerantut is 15 km from the confluence of Jelai river and Tembeling River. Temerloh is situated on the confluence between Semantan River and Pahang River. The town of Pekan, which is Pahang's royal town, is situated on the southern bank of the river,near the river mouth.