I. Introduction

II. Land and Resources

The Philippines is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea, on the south by the Sulu and Celebes seas, on the west by the South China Sea, and on the north by Luzon Strait. The Philippine Islands lie off the southeastern coast of the Asian mainland, across the South China Sea from Vietnam and China. The shortest distance to the mainland, from the northern Philippines to Hong Kong, is about 805 km (500 mi). The Philippines extends about 1,850 km (1,150 mi) from north to south (between Taiwan and Borneo Island) and about 1,100 km (700 mi) from east to west. Malaysia and Indonesia, which each hold territory on Borneo, are the republic’s closest political neighbors.

The Philippines covers a total area, not including its extensive coastal waters, of 300,000 sq km (116,000 sq mi). More than 7,100 islands and islets are included in the Philippine archipelago. The 11 largest islands make up more than 90 percent of the total area. Only about 460 islands are larger than 2.6 sq km (1 sq mi), and about 1,000 are populated.

A. Natural Regions

The Philippines can be divided into three geographic areas: the northern islands of Luzon and Mindoro, the central islands of the Visayan Islands (Visayas) and Palawan, and the southern islands of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. The national borders of the Philippines form a rough triangle. The small Batan Islands north of Luzon form the apex of the triangle. The islands of Palawan, the Sulu Archipelago, and Mindanao (from west to east) form the base of the triangle.

Luzon and Mindanao are the two largest islands, anchoring the archipelago in the north and south. Luzon has an area of 104,700 sq km (40,400 sq mi) and Mindanao has an area of 94,630 sq km (36,540 sq mi). Only nine other islands have an area of more than 2,600 sq km (1,000 sq mi) each: Samar, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, and Masbate. The centrally located Visayan Islands include all of these islands except Mindoro and Palawan.

A.1. Mountainous Landscapes

Volcanic in origin, the Philippine Islands are the higher portions of a partly submerged mountain chain. The mountains are the principal topographical feature on the smaller islands. The larger islands, particularly Luzon and Mindanao, have a more diversified topography, with fertile river valleys in the interior. Mountain ranges generally parallel the coasts, forming narrow coastal plains. The inland plains and valleys are the most densely populated areas.

On Luzon the Sierra Madre mountains form the longest range of the Philippines, extending along the island’s eastern, or Pacific, coast. The parallel ranges of the Cordillera Central, to the west about 80 km (50 mi) across the Cagayan River Valley, contain Luzon’s highest peak, Mount Pulog, at 2,930 (9,613 ft). Near this peak, mountainside rice terraces have been cultivated for hundreds of years. Farther south the important rice-growing region of the Central Luzon Valley, well irrigated by numerous rivers, extends from Lingayen Gulf to Manila Bay. The rugged Zambales Mountains, containing Mount Pinatubo (1,780 m/5,840 ft), form the valley’s western boundary, leading south to the Bataan Peninsula, the sheltering landmass for Manila Bay. Luzon becomes narrow at its southern end, curving to the southeast in a long, mountainous extension called the Bicol Peninsula. Here a string of volcanoes includes the cone-shaped peak of Mayon Volcano, rising to a height of 2,525 m (8,284 ft) near Legaspi.

Mindanao is similarly formed, with coastal mountain ranges and inland valleys, notably those of the Agusan and Mindanao rivers. The Diuata Mountains bordering the eastern coast form the most prominent range on the island. The country’s highest point, Mount Apo (2,954 m/9,692 ft), rises in the south near the Mindanao River basin. The large Zamboanga Peninsula extends from western Mindanao, hooking southward toward the Sulu Archipelago.

The Visayas include seven major islands, among them the republic’s third largest island, Samar, with an area of 13,100 sq km (5,100 sq mi). The most easterly of the Visayas, Samar is connected by bridge to the adjacent island of Leyte; both islands are relatively undeveloped and have dense jungle forests. To the west are Bohol, site of the tourist attraction known as the Chocolate Hills, hundreds of cone-shaped hills with vegetation that turns brown during summer; Cebu, a long, narrow island and the most densely populated island in the Philippines; Negros, which developed from the mid-1800s as the center of the Philippine sugar industry; and Panay, where many agricultural crops are grown in the rich volcanic soils of the densely populated coastal plain of Iloilo Province. Masbate, in the north central Visayas, is noted for its gold and copper mines.

Most of the Philippine Islands are clustered in a predominantly north-south direction. In the southwest, two island groupings deviate from this predominant direction: the long, narrow island of Palawan and its offshore islands and, farther south, the approximately 900 small islands of the Sulu Archipelago. Both island groupings extend southwest toward Borneo with the Sulu Sea between them. The Sulu Archipelago includes many coral islands and reefs. Palawan Island is believed to be the first Philippine island to have been settled by people who migrated from the Southeast Asian mainland during prehistoric times.

A.2. Pacific “Ring of Fire”

The Philippine Islands are part of the so-called Ring of Fire, an area encircling the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic activity result from the movements of tectonic plates, or segments of Earth’s crust (see Plate Tectonics). To the east of the islands lies the 10,539-m (34,578-ft) deep Philippine Trench, where one tectonic plate is being forced beneath another in a process known as subduction. This subduction causes frequent earthquakes in the Philippines. Large submarine earthquakes are known to cause tidal waves, or tsunamis, that can strike the coasts.

The Philippines includes about 20 active volcanoes and many inactive, or dormant, volcanoes. The most active is Mayon Volcano, with recent eruptions in 1993, 2000, and 2001. Mount Pinatubo caused widespread damage when it erupted in 1991 after lying dormant for about 600 years. Mount Apo, the country’s highest mountain, is an active volcano with three peaks.

B. Rivers and Lakes

The principal islands of the Philippines are traversed by large rivers, some of which are navigable. The longest river of the republic is the Cagayan, in north central Luzon. Other important rivers of Luzon include the Agno and Pampanga, crossing the Central Luzon Valley; the Chico, flowing through the Cordillera Central and irrigating the mountainside rice terraces; the Pasig, a commercially important artery flowing through Manila; and the Bicol, the primary river of the Bicol Peninsula. The principal rivers of Mindanao are the Mindanao (Rio Grande de Mindanao), which receives the waters of the Pulangi, and the Agusan.

Laguna de Bay, 13 km (8 mi) southeast of Manila, is the largest lake of the Philippines. Lake Taal, 56 km (35 mi) south of Manila, occupies a huge volcanic crater and contains an island that is itself a volcano, with its own crater lake. Lake Lanao is the largest lake of Mindanao and the source of the Agusan River, which exits the lake in the spectacular Maria Christina Falls.

C. Coastline

With its numerous islands, the Philippines has a total coastline of about 36,289 km (22,549 mi). The coastline is irregular, with numerous bays, gulfs, and inlets. Manila Bay, with its superb naturally sheltered harbor, is the most commercially important. Also significant is the wide, unsheltered Davao Gulf of southeastern Mindanao.

D. Climate

The Philippines has a tropical climate. At sea level, temperatures rarely fall below 27°C (80°F). Interior valleys and leeward sides of islands tend to be warmer, while mountain slopes and peaks and windward sides of islands tend to be cooler. Rainfall averages about 2,030 mm (80 in) a year, with more precipitation in coastal plains than in sheltered inland valleys. In the western part of the country, the rainy season occurs during the summer monsoon, from May to November, when the wind blows from the southwest; the dry season occurs during the winter monsoon, from December to April, when the wind blows from the northeast. In contrast, the eastern side of the country receives most of its rainfall during the winter monsoon and has no true dry season. Tropical storms are common from June to October; each year about 20 typhoons strike the Philippines, mostly on the eastern coasts of Luzon and Samar, bringing high winds and flooding that sometimes result in property damage and loss of life.

E. Natural Resources

The Philippines has extensive mineral deposits of copper, gold, silver, nickel, lead, and chromium. Other important, but less plentiful, deposits of zinc, cobalt, and manganese also exist. Copper has been mined extensively and is the leading mineral product, but many of the country’s mineral resources remain unexploited. The Philippines has limited offshore petroleum and natural gas reserves. About 24 percent of the Philippines is forested. Logging has seriously depleted forest cover since the early 20th century. The Philippine waters are abundant with many varieties of fish, which are an important natural resource as a staple of the Philippine diet and an export commodity.

F. Plant and Animal Life

Forests in the Philippines include the banyan, many varieties of palm, trees yielding rubber, and many indigenous trees with extremely hard wood such as apitong, yacal, lauan, camagón, ipil, white and red narra, and mayapis. Bamboo and cinnamon, clove, and pepper plants grow wild, as do hundreds of species of orchid. Abaca, or Manila hemp, is a commercially valuable indigenous plant; its fiber is used in making cordage, textiles, and hats. Mangrove trees and nipa palms grow in coastal swamps. Coarse, hardy tropical grasses have taken over many upland areas that were cleared of their original tropical rain forest.

The Philippines has few species of large mammals. The domesticated water buffalo, or carabao, is common throughout the islands, while a small species of carabao, the tamarau, is found only in interior Mindoro. Small mammals are more numerous, including monkeys, rodents, bats, and shrews; several species of deer, including a dwarf deer; mongooses; and porcupines, found only on Palawan. Reptiles and birds abound in greater variety and number than mammals. The islands have 196 species of birds, including colorful parrots and the endangered monkey-eating eagle. Palawan has many species of birds found nowhere else in the world. Leeches and insects such as mosquitoes and grasshoppers are serious pests in some areas.

Coastal and inland waters teem with marine life, including thousands of species of fish as well as mollusks such as clams. Pearl oysters are abundant around the Sulu Archipelago, and Sulu pearls are renowned for their quality. Coral reefs and sponges are also found in many offshore areas.

G. Environmental Issues

Deforestation poses the most direct threat to the remarkable biodiversity of the Philippines. Largely due to loss of habitat, more than 380 animal species are threatened or endangered. Water pollution has damaged the fragile marine ecosystems of the country’s coastal wetlands, mangrove swamps, and coral reefs. Serious air pollution is another environmental concern, primarily in Manila.

The Philippines has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. At the current rate of deforestation, about 2.1 percent annually, the country’s virgin forests are in danger of disappearing by 2010. The clearing of forests has contributed to soil erosion, a serious problem in the Philippines due to heavy monsoon rains. The Philippine government imposed restrictions on logging in the late 1970s and banned logging in virgin forests in 1991, but illegal and often corrupt activities undermine these efforts. Reforestation programs have met with limited success. About 5 percent of the land in the Philippines is designated for preservation in parks and other reserves.

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