The Land

The irregular configuration of the archipelago, the coastline of more than 21,500 miles, the great extent of mountainous country, the narrow and interrupted coastal plains, the generally northward trend of the river systems, and the lakes are the outstanding physical features of the Philippines. The islands are composed of volcanic, coral, and all principal rock formations. The mountain ranges for the most part run in the same general direction as the islands themselves, approximately north to south. The Cordillera Central, the central mountain chain of Luzon, running north to the Luzon Strait from the northern boundary of the central plain, is the most prominent range. It consists of two and in places three parallel ranges, each of which averages 5,900 feet (1,800 metres) in height. The Sierra Madre, extending along the Pacific coast from northern to central Luzon, is the longest mountain range in the country. This range and the Cordillera Central merge in north-central Luzon to form the Caraballo Mountains. To the north of the latter, and between the two ranges, is the fertile Cagayan Valley. The narrow Ilocos, or Malayan, range, lying close along the west coast of northern Luzon, rises in places to more than 5,000 feet and is seldom less than 3,500 feet in height; it is largely volcanic. In the southwestern part of northern Luzon are the rugged Zambales Mountains, consisting of more or less isolated old volcanic stocks (rock formed under great heat and pressure deep beneath the Earth's surface).

The central plain of Luzon, about 150 by 50 miles, is only about 100 feet above sea level except near its centre. The greater part of southern Luzon is occupied by isolated volcanoes and irregular masses of hills and mountains. The highest peak is Mayon Volcano (8,077 feet) near Legazpi in Albay province.

Through the island of Palawan, about 25 miles wide and more than 250 miles long, there extends a range with an average height of from 4,000 to 5,000 feet. Each of the Visayan Islands except Samar and Bohol is traversed longitudinally by a single range with occasional spurs. Several peaks in Panay reach an altitude of 6,000 feet or more. Canlaon Volcano, on Negros, is 8,087 feet high, and other peaks reach altitudes of more than 6,000 feet.

There are several important ranges on Mindanao, the Diuata (Diwata) Mountains along the eastern coast being the most prominent. West of this lies the fertile valley of the Agusan River, 20 to 30 miles wide. Farther west and southwest is the Cotabato Valley of the Mindanao River (Río Grande de Mindanao), and between its lower course and the southern coast lies a range trending northwest-southeast. On the southeastern border of the basin of the Mindanao River is Mount Apo, at 9,692 feet (2,954 metres) the highest peak in the Philippines. Around Lake Lanao are a number of volcanic peaks, and a low cordillera extends through the Zamboanga Peninsula in the far west.

The plains lying amid the mountains--for example, the central plain of Luzon and the central plain of Panay--have the greatest density of population in the islands, except Cebu, where the people live mostly on the coastal plain because the interior is high and rugged. The most important rivers are the Cagayan, Agno, Pampanga, Pasig, and Bicol on Luzon and the Mindanao and Agusan on Mindanao. The Pasig, which flows through the city of Manila, is commercially important. The largest lake in the archipelago is Laguna de Bay, located south of Manila.

Volcanoes are a conspicuous feature of the landscape, but there is relatively little volcanic activity. There are altogether about 50 volcanoes, of which more than 10 are known to be active. All gradations of volcanoes can be seen, from the almost perfect cone of Mayon, which has been compared to Mount Fuji in Japan, to old, worn-down volcanic stocks, the present forms of which give little indication of their origin. The several distinct volcanic areas are in south-central and southern Luzon and on the islands of Negros, Mindanao, Jolo, and elsewhere. Tremors and earthquakes are common.

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