7 Things You Didn’t Know About Singapore’s Natural Landscape Wonders

Remau what? Similar to the Dragon's Teeth Gate, this vertical bed of conglomerates at Labrador Park contains quartz, granite, gabbro and chert. The geological composition is similar to that of the fluvial Remau Facies that can be found at Sarang Rimau, the sea cliffs at the northwest end of Sentosa Island just across the sea from Labrador Park. A mudstone discovered near Sarang Rimau also revealed possible dinosaur claw and footprints that belonged to a juvenile prosauropod.

Contrary to popular belief that all beaches in Singapore are artificially reclaimed, two stretches of natural shorelines remain today at Changi and Sembawang. Changi Beach is made of sand, pebble, peat and clay that were deposited during the Middle or Late Holocene. This sedimentary composition is otherwise known as the Kallang Formation and can be found at other coastal areas in Singapore. Changi Beach itself has been a popular venue for kite-flying, fishing and picnics among locals since the good old days. However, this depositional landform holds a grim history as the former killing grounds for the Sook Ching massacre during the Japanese Occupation. A war monument has been constructed at the site to remember the 66 Chinese male civilians who lost their lives back then.

The hills of Mount Faber, Telok Blangah and Kent Ridge form the Southern Ridges. The geology of the ridges mostly comprises sandstone and mudstone, as a result of the historical use and abandonment of the area, particularly Kent Ridge, as rubber plantations. The soils here are now mostly sedimentary with a lack nutrients for plant growth, and most of the plant species here are that of secondary forests. With an elevation of up to 70 metres (at Mount Faber), the ridges provide a rather steep hike for trekkers. In fact, these high points along the ridges around Pasir Panjang acted as fortresses for the British army to defend Singapore against the Japanese invasion during the Second World War.