Chapter 1: Philippine Geography

I.) Origin of the Philippine Archipelago

-According to popular myth, the Philippines
was formed a long time ago when there was
no land on earth and what existed were
only the sky, the sea and a fying bird. The
bird thought of a way to make the sky and
sea fght each other. The sky went higher
and higher to aoid the big waes of the
sea but sky rained down big rocks to stop
the turbulent sea. The rocks that the sky
had rained down became the Philippine
Archipelago.
Scientifc Theories
1.) Continental Drift Theory
!"#!
Alfred $egener
parts of the %arth&s crust slowly drift
atop a li'uid core
Pangaea, meaning (All-earth), a
gigantic supercontinent *++ million
years ago.
Laurasia , northern hemisphere
Gondwanaland , southern
hemisphere
Philippine Plate , sub-plate of the
%urasian Plate
2.) olcanic Origin Theory or Pacifc
Theory
-r. .ailey $illis
Philippines came into existence after
the eruption of olcanoes beneath
the ocean, after the explosion from
the formation of the hardened laa
which came from the olcanoes.
Pacifc !i" of #ire , ring of
olcanoes around the Pacifc /cean
$.) Plate Tectonics Theory
/uter shell of the earth is made
up of thin, rigid plates that moe
relatie to each other.
0ade up of either oceanic or
continental crust or the ery top
part of the mantle, which is a
layer of rock inside the earth.
%.) The Asiatic Theory
-r. 1eopoldo 2austino
3slands are formed because of
the process of &iastrophis"
'cocene Perio& ()$*$+
"illion years ago) , Pacifc
plate drifted in a
counterclockwise and
northwesterly direction, the
moement setting the same
motion for the ad4oining
Philippine 5ea Plate.
).) ,an& -ri&ges Theory
attached to 0ainland Asia by land
bridges
3ce Age or Pleistocene, about
*#+,+++ years ago
between .orneo and Palawan6
.orneo, 5ulu and 0indanao6 7ew
8uinea and 0indanao6 Taiwan and
.atanes
$hen %arth got warmer, the icecaps
began to melt and water coered
and submerged the land bridges.
II. Geographical #o.n&ations
Philippines
- an archipelago, a country composed of
islands and largely surrounded by
bodies of water
- 9, !+9 islands
- /nly :, !;; islands hae names
- (Pearl of the /rient 5eas)
- 1ocated between the %'uator and the
Tropic of <ancer
- $ithin the =ing of 2ire in the Pacifc
- =ing of fre , the chain of olcanoes
surrounding the Pacifc /cean
- Total area - :++, +++ s'. km.
- 1ength - !, >#9 km
- $idth - !, !+9 km
- 1u?on , biggest island
- @&ami , northernmost island
- 5alauag , southernmost island
<ountries surrounding the PhilippinesA
7orth - Taiwan and Bapan
5outh - .orneo and 3ndonesia
%ast , 8uam
$est - Thailand, Cietnam and 0yanmar
.ounded byA
7orth , .ashi <hannel
5outh , <elebes 5ea
%ast , Pacifc /cean
$est , 5outh <hina 5ea
Adantages of being an archipelago
Abundant marine life
$orld class beaches and tourist spots
7umerous ports which could facilitate
trade and commerce
-isadantages of being an archipelago
Transportation of goods is diDcult
3solated areas are far from modernity
Eard to defend the country owing to the
numerous points of entry and exit
2re'uent ground for strong and
deastating typhoons
/a0or ,an& #or"s
*++ olcanoes - *! actie olcanoes
and others are dormant
7umerous mountain ranges
!F 2amous actie olcanoes
0ount 0ayon
- A strato olcano
- known for its perfect cone
shape
- one among the %ight
$onders of the $orld
- !9!G, most destructie
eruption
- *++G, latest recorded
ma4or eruption
Taal Colcano
- smallest olcano in the
world
0t. Apo
- highest mountain in the
Philippines
- height A ", G"+ ft or H*, "#;
mF
0ount Pinatubo
-!""! eruption caused a great
changed in the weather and climate
*F 0ountain ranges
5ierra 0adre
- longest continuous
mountain range
- facing the Pacifc coastline
in 7orthern 1u?on
Iambales mountain range
- facing the <hina 5ea
- <entral 1u?on a large plain
between 5ierra 0adre and Iambales
mountain range
JJ<agayan Calley is between long
stretch of <ordillera and <araballo
mountains
Iamboanga mountain range
- facing the Pacifc /cean
and the 0indanao 5ea coastline
.anaue =ice Terraces - symboli?es hard
work and adaptability
0ountains of 5agada
- most famous of Philippine
landforms
- located in the 0ountain
Proince of 1u?on
- also known as 5hangri- la
- where .anaue rice terraces is
located
<hocolate Eills of .ohol
- !, *G> hills
- man-made by ancestors
- created out of weathered limestones
- uniformly-shaped at the si?e of :+ -#+
meters
<agayan Calleys
- proides the country&s top agricultural
crops
- rice ,corn, sugarcane, banana, coconut
and tobacco
Trinidad Calleys
- (5alad .owl of the Philippines)
- Produces the freshest farm-grown fruits
and egetables
Cli"ate
- the Philippines has a humid tropical
climate because of its location
- aerage of *+ typhoons
- destructie typhoons
*++", /ndoy
*+!!, Typhoon 5endong
Types of tropical climate
!. -ry and hot season H0arch until
0ayF
*. =ainy season HBune until 7oemberF
and <ool dry season H-ecember to
2ebruaryF
:. 5easons are not relatiely dry from
7oember to April and wet during
the rest of the year
;. =ainfall is more or less eenly
distributed through the year
Territorial waters- measuring as much as
!.G9 million s'uare kilometers and located
in the worlds fshing center.
*, ;++ fsh species- found in the country. G#
hae good commercial alue.
J5ome of the country&s best salt water
fshing areas are found inA
!. 5intangki 3sland in 5ulu %stancia in .ohol
*. 0alampaya in Palawan
:. 1ingayen 8ulf in Pangasinan
;. 5an 0iguel lake in <amarines 7orte
#. .antayan <hannel in <ebu
G. 5eas of Kue?on and 5orsogon
JAmong our biggest fsher water fshing
areasA
!. 1aguna de .ay
*. .ombon lake in batangaas
:. .ato lake in <amarines 5ur
;. 7au4an lake in 0indoro
#. 0ainit lake in Agusan del 7orte
0etals and 7on- metals- classifcation of the
country&s mineral deposits
%stimated *!.# billion metric tons- metals
!".: billion metric tons- 7on- metals
7ickel- ranks frst in terms of deposits and
si?e
3ron- found in 3locos 7orte, 7uea %ci4a,
<amarines norte and <otabato
<opper- found in Iambales, .atangas,
0indoro, Panay and 7egros
<ement, lime and marble- among non-
metals, these are the most abundant
JThe single island of 1u?on has :! endemic
species of mammal alone
JAtleast one-third of the more than ",*#+
ascular plant species natie to the
Philippines are endemic
;# species of dipterocarp- dominate the
lowland and hill forests of the Philippines
8iant fgs- important tree species which
proide food for fruit bats, parrots and
monkeys
Pterocarpus indicus- like the dipterocarps is
alued to its timber.
#:+ bird species- found in the Phil. L about
!># or :#M of these being endemic and
oer G+ are threaten
9 %ndemic bird areas in the PhilippinesA
!. 0indoro
*. 1u?on
:. 7egros and Panay
;. <ebu
#. 0indanao and %astern Cisayas
G. 5ulu archipelago
9. Palawan
=habdornithidae- Philippines& single
endemic bird family represented by the Phil.
<reepers
Philippine eagle- the best-known species in
the Philippine which is the second largest
eagle in the world.
Among the Philippines other threatened
endemic speciesA
!.7egros bleeding heart *.Cisayan wrinkled hornbill
:.5carlet-collared fower pecker
;. <ebu fower pecker
#. Philippine cockatoo
JAtleast !G# mammal species are found in
the Philippines and oer !++ of these are
endemic HG!MF, one of the highest leels of
mammal endemism in any location on
earth.
Tamaraw- the largest and most impressie
of the mammals in the Philippine6 a dwarf
water buNalo that lies only on
0indoro 3sland.
/ther mammals endemic to the PhilippinesA
!. Cisayan and Philippine warty pigs
*. <alamianes hog-deer
:. Cisayan spotted deer
;. 8olden- caped fruit bat- which is the
world&s largest bat
-has been recently
rediscoered on the islands of <ebu in *+++
and 7egros in *++:
J=eptiles are represented by about *:#
species, some !G+ of which are endemic
HG>MF. 5ix genera are endemic, including
the snake genus 0yersophis, which is
represented by a single species, 0yersophis
alpestris on 1u?on. The Philippine fying
li?ards from the genus -raco are well
represented here with about !+ species.
%ndemic freshwater crocodile- considered
the most threatened crocodilian in the
world.
*+!! - Largest living crocodile in
the world - ,olong Hcaptured in
AgusanF
Newly discovered monitor lizard -
second monitor species known in the world
to speciali?e on a fruit diet -
aran.s "a1itang Hfrom PanayF
7A0%5 83C%7 T/ TE% A=<E3P%1A8/
/a*i HLand of barbariansF - early
name of the Philippines known to the
Chinese traders
Accor&ing to !i2al3 in Ptole"y4s
"ap:
J Tawalisi - Philippines
J Baroussai - Visayas
3n the edition of !#;+A
JPuloan - must hae been the
name originally borne by the island
of Palawan
* Maniolas - ery similar to
Maynilad6 must hae been the
name gien to the vast
region of Manila
The Archipelago of San ,a2aro -
by Magellan (March 16, 1521)6 it
haing been discovered on the
abbath of t! Lazarus
al Se. Parigne5alley 6itho.t
Peril * in iew of the hos"itality
and brotherly love shown by the
natives to the discoverers
Islas &el Poniente5Islan&s of the
6est * in "ain# Magellan came
here by a westerly route from "ain
Islas &el Oriente5Islan&s of the
'ast * in Portugal# Portuguese
came here by an easterly route
from Portugal
#elipinas or #ilipinas * by Rui
Lopez de Villaloos (15!2)6
recorded by "l#arado, in honor of
(our fortunate Prince$) the man
who saed it for Christendom$ Rey
$elipe %% or &ing Philip %% o'
(pain
$hen the country got its
inde"endence from the ")ericans
in 1*!6, it became oDcially known
as the !ep.1lic of the
Philippines6 in layman&s parlance
as Pinas
P=/P/5A15A
J %izalene %e"ublic - Gen.
Arte"io !icarte
J Maharli&a - #er&inan&
/arcos
J Luzviminda - senator7 in
lie. of the $ largest islan&s in
the co.ntry