Philippines

Geography

The islands are grouped into Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, with Luzon island being the largest and Mindanao as the second largest island in the Philippines. Globally, the former is the 15th biggest island in the world while the latter is in the 19th rank. The combined land areas of Luzon and Mindanao account for slightly more than two-thirds (about 67.41%) of the total land area of the country. The national capital is Manila which is strategically situated more or less in the center of Luzon.

A country completely enclosed by water bodies, the Philippines has endless supply of beaches. According to the CIA World Factbook, the Philippines has a total coastline of 36,289 kilometers or 22,548.94 miles. This places the country in the third rank among sovereign countries/states with the longest coastline in Asia, next to Indonesia and Russia, and fifth in the entire world.

The Philippine Islands are surrounded by four marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean. These are the Philippine Sea to the east, the South China Sea(also known as the West Philippine Sea) to the west, the Sulu Sea to the southeast, and the Celebes Sea to the south.

In these marine waterbodies lie the demarcation lines making the boundaries or outer limits of the maritime zones of the Philippines as determined and established by pertinent laws of the country and in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The internal waters, archipelagic waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and continental shelf comprise the maritime zones of the Philippines.

Within the internal and archipelagic waters of the country can be found the smaller marginal seas, namely, the Bohol Sea, Samar Sea, Sibuyan Sea, Camotes Sea, and Visayan Sea. Though relatively shallower compared to the larger marginal seas, these minor seas are nonetheless deep enough and serve as vital channels for navigation.

In addition to the marginal seas, there are countless straits, channels, and inlets. These bodies of marine water separate neighboring islands and define their coastlines. As these waterbodies connect larger areas of the sea, they are extremely useful for transporting passengers, animals, and goods from one island to another. The numerous indentations along the coastline mark the existence of gulfs, bays, and coves. Where rivers reach the coast to drain into the sea, these are precisely the estuaries. A lagoon is another body of seawater that is ideal for such recreational purposes as swimming, bathing, and just enjoying the sea breeze, tropical sun, sand, and waves. All these various bodies of water are abundantly distributed around and within the entire Philippine archipelago and they dot the whole stretch of its long coastline.

On account of the country's archipelagic nature and its extremely long coastline, greater proportions of its provinces, cities, and towns are coastal compared to landlocked ones. Out of the 81 provinces, 66 (or 81.48%) are coastal. Of the 15 landlocked provinces, 12 are in the island of Luzon, while three are in Mindanao. Among the cities, those along the coast, 88 (or 60.69%) far outnumber the landlocked ones (57). Majority of the municipalities, too, are coastal – a total of 812 (or 54.53%), while 677 are landlocked.

Besides having one of the longest coastlines in the world, the Philippines also has one of the deepest ocean trenches – the Philippine Trench, also known as the Philippine Deep, Mindanao Trench, or Mindanao Deep. Its deepest point, called Galathea Depth, is measured to be 10,540 meters or 34,580 feet below sea level. It is third in rank worldwide next to the Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench, and the Horizon Deep of the Tonga Trench – the first and second deepest points in the planet, respectively.

Due to its location close to the equator, the climate of the Philippines generally ranges from warm to hot most of the year with the exception of a few mountainous places having a cooler climate. The weather consists of the dry season and the wet or rainy season.

Highest mountains in the Philippines

Massive mountain ranges characterize the northern areas of Luzon, and the eastern and southern portions of Mindanao. Notable among these are the Cordillera, Caraballo, and Sierra Madre in Luzon, and the Kitanglad, Kalatungan, and Piapayungan ranges in Mindanao.

Despite the more accurate measurements provided by modern technologies, Mount Apo remains the highest mountain in the country. However, Mount Pulag in Luzon, which used to be second in rank, was downgraded to third place. Mount Dulang-Dulang, or "D2" as known among mountaineers, is now the second highest peak. Mount Dulang-Dulang and Mount Kitanglad, the fourth highest, as well as Mount Maagnaw, are parts of the Kitanglad Range in Bukidnon. Mount Piapayungan and Mount Ragang are the highest peaks in the Piapayungan Range.

Cities and municipalities with highest estimated elevation above sea level

None of the cities comes close to Baguio City when it comes to its estimated elevation (by city or municipal center), and by association, its climate. Marawi City, the city with the second highest elevation is 716.10 meters (or 2,349.41 feet) above sea level as compared to Baguio's 1,445.30 meters (4,741.80 feet). And yet, five of the municipalities in the Cordillera Administrative Region (Atok and Buguias of Benguet, Barlig and Sagada of Mountain Province, and Tinoc of Ifugao) surpass Baguio City in terms of elevation, ranging from 1,483.40 meters (or 4,866.80 feet) to 2,294.50 meters (or 7,527.89 feet).

Volcanoes in the Philippines

Lying along the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippine archipelago normally and regularly goes through seismic as well as volcanic tremors of varying intensity. There are over 400 volcanoes that dot the whole stretch of the Philippine map with the largest concentrations in the main islands of Luzon and Mindanao. Of these volcanoes, 24 are active, 27 are potentially active, and 360 are inactive, as classified by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

Ranked according to elevation, the 5 tallest volcanoes are Mount Apo at 2,594 maslfolllowed by Mount Kalatungan at 2,824 masl, then Mount Ragang at 2,815 masl, Mount Canlaon at 2,465 masl, and Mount Balatukan at 2,450 masl.

As regards the number of recorded eruptions, the most active is Mayon Volcano with over 50 eruptions from the years 1616 to 2018. Taal Volcano comes next with 33 eruptions from 1572 to 2009. Mount Canlaon is reported to have erupted 28 times from 1886 up to 1996, while Mount Bulusan has already erupted more than 20 times from 1886 up to 2016.

Surface water resources

Most of the principal bodies of freshwater such as the longest/largest river systems, largest/deepest lakes, and tallest waterfalls are found in Luzon and Mindanao. Most of the time, the mountain streams in these two islands serve as the source of headwaters of the rivers.

Rivers in the Philippines

Cagayan River or Rio Grande de Cagayan is both the longest and largest river system followed by Mindanao River or Rio Grande de Mindanao and Agusan River. These grand rivers flow through some provinces before reaching the mouth and draining into the sea. Likewise, these rivers are fed by tributaries coming from neighboring provinces.

Cagayan River traverses the following provinces of Northern Luzon: Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino. Its major tributaries are the Magat River in Isabela, Chico River in Kalinga, Ilagan River in Isabela, and Siffu-Mallig River located in the Central Cordillera ranges. Its headwaters are in the Caraballo mountains.

Mindanao River is the second longest and second largest river basin. Its headwaters can be found in Impasugong mountains in Bukidnon. It passes through Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and Cotabato before it drains into the Illana Bay. Its main tributaries are the Pulangi and Kabacan Rivers.

Agusan River is the third longest river and third largest river basin in the country. Its headwaters are in the mountains of Davao Oriental, then flows through Compostela Valley, the Agusan Marsh in Agusan del Sur, then Agusan del Norte. Its tributaries are the following: Adgaoan, Gibong, Haoan/Ihaoan, Kayonan/Umayam, Manat, Ojot, Simulao, Wawa, and other smaller rivers.(Source: Department of Environment and Natural Resources.Agusan River Basin Integrated Water Resources Management Project, vol. 1, Jan. 2011, p. 88, faspselib.denr.gov.ph/.)

Other Philippine rivers renowned for their length and/or size are Pulangi and Davao Rivers in Mindanao, along with those in Luzon, namely, Pampanga, Agno, Abra, Abulug, and Chico Rivers.

Lakes in the Philippines

Just like rivers, lakes are also valuable resources of freshwater. Laguna de Bay is the largest in the Philippines; its area measuring approximately 900 square kilometers. It is also designated as the second largest inland freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, next to Tonlé Sap in Cambodia. Lakes Lanao and Taal are next in rank, covering areas of 347 square kilometers and 234 square kilometers, respectively. Lake Mainit, located partly in Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Norte, is not only the fourth largest lake, but also is recognized by experts as the deepest lake in the country. Other major lakes within the country are Naujan Lake in Oriental Mindoro, Lake Buluan in Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao, Lake Bato in Camarines Sur, Lake Buhi in Camarines Sur, Lake Dapao in Lanao del Sur, and Lake Sebu in South Cotabato.

Government and political administration

The Republic of the Philippines has a democratic system of government. The President is the head of the Executive branch, while the Senate and the House of Representatives occupy the Legislative branch. Finally, the Judiciary is made up of the Supreme Court and the lower courts. The Presidential Cabinet oversees the delivery of services such as education, health, infrastructure, social services, and others through the Regional offices, thus, the regional divisions.

On the other hand, the political and socio-economic governance of the Filipino people is basically done through the Local Government Units (LGUs), thus the provinces, cities, municipalities(also referred to as towns), and barangays. Each province is headed by the Governor, each city and town/municipality by the Mayor, and each barangay by thePunong Barangayor Barangay Captain.

Demography

The Philippines has a total area of 300,000 square kilometers (115,830.65 square miles). Its latest population count (2020 Census) is 109,033,245, with an average population growth rate computed at 1.63% from its previous population of 100,981,437 in 2010. The population density is 363 inhabitants per square kilometer or 941 per square mile.

Sources

1. Data on population and land area are derived from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
2. Maps utilize OpenStreetMap data available under the Open Data Commons Open Database License.