HOW THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS WERE FORMED

The Philippines is a country full of legends. Filipinos love legends and myths, and they believe in superstitions. The legend of the sea and the sky is one of them.

 

 

Several million years ago, there was nothing but the enormous sea and the expansive sky. In the vast emptiness, a cunning bird came and saw the calmness of the sea and the beauty of the glorious sky. At first, the bird thought it was a pleasant, beautiful, and incredibly peaceful place. The bird watched it every day, flying over the wave year in and year out. A few years passed, and one day, the bird became restless because the scenery was the same all the time, day in and day out, and it started to get monotonous and boring. The bird thought what a waste it was. The bird also needed a place to land and rest its weary wings. The bird kept on thinking about what it could do to make the place more interesting. For days, the bird could not think of anything else. It kept thinking, thinking hard, and then thinking even harder. The bird had to do something to break the monotony.

One day, a light flashed into its tiny head. “What a great idea,” the bird shouted aloud. “Maybe I can do something to create a confrontation between the quiet sea and the blue sky. I can make them quarrel with each other. I can drop a seed on the sea in the hope of opening up dry land. But where would I get the seed? There was nothing here. I could fly to some distant shore. That’s what I would do.” And so the bird did what he wanted to do.

The bird flew away to distant places, looking for the right seed. It took the bird a long time, but he found the precious seed at some distant shore. The bird returned and executed what it thought was a brilliant idea. The bird felt smugly at the prospect of what would happen next. Just as expected, the sea saw the seed begin to sprout and thought it was the sky that did it. The sea, angry at the sky, spouted a tremendous amount of foaming waves into the sky, and the sky, in turn, grumbled and spat down tons and tons of rocks and dirt to stop the crashing waves of the sea. As the sky grew wetter and wetter, it retaliated with violent thunder, blinding flashes of lightning, and more boulders and rocks crashing into the sea. It went on for days.

Finally, bombarded by the sheer number and weight of the rocks and dirt, the sea gave up and retreated. When things quieted down, the bird knew it had achieved its goal and was ecstatic. The bird landed on the small island formed by boulders and rocks, and the Philippine archipelago was born.

 

 

In truth, there was only the vast body of water, the mighty ocean, which would later be called the Pacific Ocean, and the encompassing sky above it in the beginning. At that time, the Philippine tectonic plate sat squeezed between the vast Pacific and Asiatic plates.

 

Geologically speaking, the Philippine archipelago was formed by volcanic eruptions beneath the sea and the buckling of the Earth’s crust when two tectonic plates collided approximately 65 million years ago. When the world’s largest and much heavier Pacific Plate moved under the smaller Philippine Plate, the Philippine Plate buckled under the tectonic pressure, pushing land masses. Northern Luzon sat on the western edge of the Philippine Plate, while the remaining islands rested on the eastern edge of the Asiatic Plate. The southward movement of the Asian landmass formed the shallow China Sea and crumpled the edge of the continental shelf. The crests of the folds produced in the submerged ridge created the elongated mountain ranges of the Northern Philippine islands. Fissures formed, and from the bottom of the immense ancient ocean, a vast amount of trapped molten material deep in the Earth spewed up in horrendous volcanic eruptions. Continuous volcanic activities pushed up and spewed forth billions of cubic meters of ash and molten lava, adding their enormous debris across the landscape. Islands were formed, and the Philippine archipelago was born.

 

A number of the archipelago’s islands continued to grow and rise from the depths of the ocean floor. Monsoonal climates exhibit noticeable summer rainfall peaks and winter dry seasons. Winds tore down at mountain ranges, and ocean storms ripped at tiny islands on every side by huge waves. The islands were periodically subjected to strong typhoons, devastating floods, and volcanic eruptions. Strong earthquakes have also occurred periodically. These climatic occurrences had been happening constantly for centuries before humans discovered the islands. All these elements, along with the ongoing erosion, contributed to the shaping and reshaping of the Philippine archipelago. Luzon was torn away from Taiwan, the Visayas from Luzon, Mindanao from the Visayas, Borneo from Mindanao, and the Sulu Archipelago from Mindanao and Borneo.

 

A narrow belt running southeast from Zambales Province to Legaspi in Albay Province roughly follows the boundary between the two plates. This belt contains the most vigorous of the Philippines’ two dozen active volcanoes, including Mt. Pinatubo in Tarlac, Taal Volcano in Batangas, Mt. Banahaw in Quezon, and Mayon Volcano in Albay. Mayon Volcano is the most beautiful of them all and is recognized as the most perfectly formed volcanic cone in the world, rising to a height of 9,000 feet above the Albay Gulf.

 

The Philippines lies on the volatile Pacific “Ring of Fire,” and most of the highest mountains are volcanic in origin. There are about 50 volcanoes scattered about the archipelago, 22 of which are still active. These volcanoes can erupt with great explosive force at times, spreading ash and devastation for miles around. Taal Volcano, the lowest volcano in the world, erupted for 200 days from May 15 to December 1, 1754, its greatest recorded eruption. Mt. Pinatubo, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila, angrily woke up from its 600-year slumber on June 12, 1991, and earned the reputation as the most devastating volcanic eruption of the 20th century, killing more than 1,000 people and raining volcanic ash everywhere nearby. Mayon in southern Luzon has erupted 47 times since 1616. The deadliest, in 1814, killed more than 1200 people and partly destroyed the Cagsawa Church and buried a village. The most recent deadly event was a two-month-long eruption in February 1993, sending volcanic debris five kilometers into the air and killing 70 people, including a group of volcanologists. On January 22, 2018, the Mayon Volcano was placed under Alert Level 4 after it spewed a massive ash column, extending the danger zone around the volcano to 8 kilometers from the crater.

 

However, these eruptions bring great soil fertility to the area. Over 10,000 species of plants grow in the Philippines, with more than 1,000 orchid species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world.

 

 

Sources:

Insight Guide Philippines – Discovery Channel

  

The Philippines - A Tropical Paradise

 

 What do you know about the Philippines?

Here is a glimpse of the Philippines, its geography, and its natural beauty.

 

The Philippines is a tropical paradise in Southeast Asia, boasting spectacular beaches lined with gently swaying palm trees on fine white, pink, and in some areas, almost black sand. Some islands are well-known, while others remain deserted and undiscovered, home to underwater wrecks such as Spanish galleons, Chinese junks, and warships surrounded by vast expanses of verdant landscapes and classic Baroque churches. 

Photo Credit – en.wikipedia.org

 

The Philippine Islands, consisting of about 7,100 separate islands primarily of volcanic origin, are traversed from north to south by irregular mountain ranges that span more than 1,100 miles (1,850 kilometers) from north to south and nearly 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) east to west at their widest. The total land area is approximately 115,000 square miles (roughly 300,439 square kilometers), slightly larger than New Zealand and comparable in size to the state of Arizona. Approximately two-thirds is contained in Luzon and Mindanao. The total water surface of the archipelago is 705,115 square miles.

 

The Philippines consists of three main island groupings: Luzon, located in the north, which includes the islands of Mindoro and Palawan; the Visayan Islands in the middle; and Mindanao, in the south,  which includes the Sulu archipelago.

 

The islands are located within the Pacific volcanic belt, are very mountainous, with a comparatively small area of lowland. The islands are subject to floods, typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Some volcanoes of interest are Taal, the world’s lowest volcano, and Mt. Mayon, recognized as the most perfectly formed volcano cone in the world, both of which exhibit many indications of recent eruptive disturbances. The larger islands have high, rugged, mountainous interiors, mainly comprising ranges that run north to south, with peaks emerging above hills and valleys. The main mountain ranges are the Cordillera Central on the western side and the Sierra Madre on the eastern side, both running north to south, roughly parallel to the coastline of Luzon. The highest mountain in the Philippines is Mt. Apo, which stands at 2,954 meters (9,600 feet) high in Mindanao. Slightly smaller is Mt. Pulog at 2,928 meters (8,481 feet) in northern Luzon. In some places, the mountains drop steeply to the sea.

 

Scattered between the Pacific Ocean on the east and the South China Sea on the west, Balintang Channel on the north, and Celebes Sea on the south, the islands of the Philippines form an archipelago almost as large as that of Japan proper. The most oversized island and farthest north, Luzon at 40,410 square miles (104,688 square kilometers), occupies 35 per cent of the nation’s total land area, and is surrounded by numerous islands and islets. It is about 105 kilometers (500 miles) from Taiwan and about 1,250 miles from Australia. The Philippine Trench (also known as the Mindanao Deep), the world’s deepest spot at 10,057 meters (32,995 feet) deep, is located 60 kilometers (37.28 miles) off its southeast shores. Mindanao is the second-largest island in the Philippines, located in its southern region. Many islands have extensive coral reefs offshore.

The ten largest islands are Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, and Bohol. All but 460 out of the 7,100 islands occupy areas of less than one square mile apiece. Only 46 are larger than 62 square miles (100 square kilometers). Many of the 7,100 islands are little more than rocks, reefs, or sandbanks. They are mere specks on the ocean. Some 4,600 are named and about 1,000 are inhabited. The Philippine Islands have a total coastline of approximately 11,500 miles (18,000 kilometers). There are hundreds of rivers and bays. Manila Bay is the main port.

 

The Philippine Islands lie wholly within the tropics, between latitudes five degrees and fifteen degrees north of the Equator, so that if they could be brought straight across the Pacific to the American continents, they would extend from the middle of Mexico to the middle of Colombia in South America.

 

The Philippines has a complex weather pattern. It has a moist tropical climate. The Philippines is hot and humid year-round, with seasons determined by the prevailing winds. The eastern parts of the Philippines receive their heaviest rainfall from November to June, while the western parts of the Philippines experience heavy rain from June to November. Rainfall can average seventy inches a year, with some areas receiving as much as two hundred inches, especially during the monsoon season between October and April. Climate varies by region, but one can escape the heat by moving to higher elevations, such as Baguio, located at an elevation of 1,524 meters, making it the summer capital.

 

There are numerous mineral deposits, including gold, coal, and iron, in various locations. The volcanic soils of the Philippines foster a rich and varied growth of plants. Much of the archipelago is covered with thick jungle, featuring diverse tropical vegetation, particularly in the mountainous interiors. Rugged ridges of hills and steep mountain ranges dot the countryside. Tropical rainforests give way to open parklands. The area outside the equatorial belt, particularly north of the Equator, is also subject to devastating periodic typhoons. Swift-flowing streams during the rainy season turn into deep arid gullies during the hot, dry season.

 

Rivers flowing from the highlands water the extremely fertile soil of the agricultural lowlands. Rice paddies, vast swamps, coconut plantations, sugar plantations, and tobacco plantations abound. Coconut trees, the Philippines’ most important tree, are everywhere. It is used for coconut wine, coconut milk, coconut meat, and coconut heart for making lumpia (egg roll) and salad. Coconut oil is used for cooking, and coconut wood is used for building materials. There are hardwood trees, including ebony, teak, and cypress, suitable for building and making furniture. Rattan and bamboo abound. Nipa palms are used for roofing materials. Beautiful mahogany and narra are very special woods for making furniture.

Photo Credit of Durian – smithsonianmag.com

 

The Island also produces an abundance of delicious tropical fruits. Mangoes, avocados, papayas, guavas, lanzones, chico, duhat, siniguelas, langka, and the hugely stinking durian are some of the more popular and exotic fruits. Breadfruit and bananas can also be found in the Philippines, with the former being used to make barkcloth as well. There were two major species of bananas grown, the Musa troglodytarum with a vertical fruit stalk and the more familiar-looking Musa sapientum, whose fruit stalk bends downward.

Photo Credit of Waling-Waling Orchid - YouTube

 

Botanists have discovered more than 12,000 different species of plants. Orchids thrive here. The 1,000 orchid species include the popular waling-waling orchid of western Mindanao. Sampaguita, the white, sweet-smelling national flower, frangipani, bougainvillea, and hibiscus also abound. In addition, more than 1,000 species of ferns and over 8,000 plant species bloom, decorating the country with an array of colors and fragrant scents. At least 130 species of Philippine fauna now stand on the United Nations’ list of endangered and threatened species.

 

Some fifty years ago, forests, conservatively valued at $20 billion at the time, covered more than 53 percent of the islands. Hungry for foreign currency, commercial logging was a nationally prioritized industry from the 1950s to the 1970s. The Estrada administration banned commercial logging, but by that time, more than 70 percent of the nation’s original forests had already been destroyed.

 

The Philippines is Asia’s best-kept secret diving haven. Luzon’s most accessible dive area is Anilao in Batangas, a few hours’ drive south of Manila. Across the strait from Anilao lies Puerto Galera in Mindoro, renowned for its rewarding sports diving. In northern Luzon, divers can visit several World War II wrecks in Subic Bay. The famed 19^th-century dreadnought USS New York lies in 90 feet of water, with El Capitan, a 430-foot freighter, submerged just 40 feet below. Coron Bay, off northern Palawan’s Calamian Island, features some of the Philippines’ best wrecks. The dozen accessible wrecks comprise a fleet of supply ships for Japanese Naval Admiral Kurita, sunk during the October 1944 battle of Leyte Gulf.

 

Sources:

Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia

Insight Guide Philippines – APA Publications

Philippines Traveler’s Companion - Kirsten Ellis

Philippines Handbook – Carl Parkes

The Philippines - John Cockcroft

Wikipedia