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