Philippines: Bodies of Water

Bodies of Water
The Philippines boast of many different kinds of natural water forms, such as bays, rivers,
lakes falls, gulfs, straits, and swamps. Because it is made up of islands, the country's
coastline, if laid end-to-end, would measure around 17.5 thousand kilometers. The
Philippines is blessed with excellent natural harbors for ports like Manila Bay. Other
excellent harbors with port potentials are found in Ilocos, Pangasinan, Visayas, and
Mindanao. The three largest rivers in the country are the Cagayan River in Northern Luzon,
the Rio Grande de Mindanao, and the Agusan River, also in Mindanao. Also noteworthy in
terms of size are the Agno, Pasig, Angat Pampanga, and Bicol rivers in Luzon. Most popular
among tourist is the famous underground river in Palawan. Aside from rivers, the country
also abounds with lakes. Easily the most famous is the heart-shaped Laguna de Bay. Other
famous lakes are Taal in Batangas, Sampaloc in Laguna, Buhi and Bulusan in Bicol, Naujan
in Mindoro oriental, and Lanao and Mainit in Mindanao. Generating power for the Nation’s
growth are the magnificent waterfalls that serve as tourist attractions, as well. The biggest
is waterfalls is the Maria Cristina falls, it can be found in the North Western part of Lanao
province in Mindanao, while the most popular is Pagsanjan falls in Laguna, where tourist
came in droves.
Natural Resources
The Philippines is rich in natural resources. It has fertile,
arable lands, diverse flora and fauna, extensive coastlines,
and rich mineral deposits. About 30% of the land area of the
country was determined be geologically prospective by the
Philippine Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau. But Only 1.5% of
country's land area is covered with mining permits. Despite
the rich natural resources of the Philippines, the government
is restricting its exploitation. A logging ban is imposed on
many areas of the country and only in select areas are
"sustainable logging" allowed. However illegal logging and
small-scale illegal mining continues is many areas. In July
2012, President Benigno Aquino III ordered a stop to all
mining activities in all (78 areas) protected and eco-tourism
sites. A positive step in the right direction to protect the
natural resources of the Philippines.
Our Land
The Philippines’ primary source of livelihood is its fertile land. Rich, wide plains suitable for
farming are found in the Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, South western Bicol, Panay,
Negros, Davao, Cotabato, Agusan and Bukidnon. The country ‘s six major crops
are rice, corn, sugarcane, coconut, abaca and tobacco. Except for rice and corn, all these
products are exported, along with bananas and pineapples.
Our Forests
The Philippines also boasts of wide tracts of lush, green forests. In fact, almost half of the
country’s total land area is forested. Sixty percent of these forests are found in Mindanao.
Mineral resources
Except for petroleum and a number of metals, mineral resources abound in Philippine soil.
The country’s mineral deposits can be classified into metals and non-metals. Our metal
deposits are estimated at 21.5 billion metric tons, while non-metal deposits are projected at
19.3 billion metric tons. Nickel ranks first in terms of deposits and size, it is found in Surigao
del Norte, Davao, Palawan, Romblon and Samar. Iron is found in Ilocos Norte, Nueva Ecija,
Camarines Norte and Cotabato. While copper in Zambales, Batangas, Mindoro, Panay and
Negros. Among non-metal deposits, the most abundant are cement, lime, and marble.
Other non-metals include asbestos, clay, guano, asphalt, feldspar, sulfur, talc, silicon,
phosphate, and marble.
Fishery Resources
With its territorial waters measuring as much as 1.67 million square kilometers and located
in the worlds fishing center, the Philippines is definitely rich in marine resources. Of the
2,400 fish species found in the country. 65 have good commercial value. Other marine
products include corals, pearls, crabs and seaweeds. Some of the countries best salt water
fishing area’s are found in Sintangki Island in Sulu Estancia in Bohol, Malampaya in
Palawan, Lingayen Gulf in Pangasinan, San Miguel lake in Camarines Norte, Bantayan
Channel in Cebu, and the seas of Quezon and Sorsogon.
On the other hand, among our biggest fisher water fishing areas are Laguna de Bay,
Bombon Lake in Batangas, Bato Lake in Canmarines Sur, Naujan Lake in Mindoro and Mainit
lake in Agusan del Norte. Continue to Early Filipinos

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Bodies of Water

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