"Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan), which became the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone ever recorded as it crossed the Visayas in central Philippines on November 7–8, 2013. The wettest known tropical cyclone to impact the archipelago was the July 14–18, 1911 cyclone which dropped over of rainfall within a 3-day, 15-hour period in Baguio. Tropical cyclones usually account for at least 30 percent of the annual rainfall in the northern Philippines while being responsible for less than 10 percent of the annual rainfall in the southern islands. PAGASA Senior Weather Specialist Anthony Lucero told the newsite Rappler that the number of"
"islands in the central Philippines, the largest of which are: Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Siquijor, Biliran and Guimaras. The Mindanao islands include Mindanao itself, Dinagat, Siargao, Camiguin, Samal, plus the Sulu Archipelago, composed primarily of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. The Philippine archipelago lies in Southeast Asia in a position that has led to its becoming a cultural crossroads - a place where Malays, Hindus, Arabs, Chinese, Spaniards, Americans, and others had interacted to forge a unique cultural and racial blend. The archipelago numbers some 7,641 islands. The Philippines occupies an area that stretches for from about the fifth"
"Philippines The Philippines ( ; or ' ), officially the Republic of the Philippines (), is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. Bounded by the South China Sea on the west, the Philippine Sea on the east and the Celebes Sea on the southwest, the Philippines shares maritime borders with"
"Frances Reef as the southernmost, Pusan Point as its easternmost and the Balabac Great Reef as the westernmost points of the main Philippine archipelago. The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,100 islands customarily enclosed by the lines demarcated by the Treaty of Paris in 1898 and the Convention Between the United States and Great Britain in 1930, which came to be known in the Philippines as its ""International Treaty Limits"". The government of the Philippines has maintained its position that the waters enclosed by the demarcation lines in the said treaties form part of its territorial waters regardless of its"
"Territories claimed by the Philippines The Philippines has claimed many territories throughout its history. These include the Spratly Islands, Sabah, Scarborough Shoal, Palmias or Miangas Island, the Sangir Islands, Orchid Island, Marianas Islands and Caroline Islands. The Philippines claims 52 features in the Spratly Island group. Among these, the Philippines was only able to occupy 7 islands and 2 reefs. These include Thitu (""Pagasa"") Island (2nd largest), West York (""Likas"") island (3rd largest), Northeast (""Parola"") cay (5th largest), Nanshan (""Lawak"") island, Loaita (""Kota"") island, Flat (Spratly) (""Patag"") island, Lankiam (""Panata"") cay, Commodore (""Rizal"") reef, Irving (""Balagtas"") reef and Second Thomas"
"Mindanao Mindanao () or still commonly known as Southern Philippines, is the second largest island in the Philippines. Mindanao and the smaller islands surrounding it make up the island group of the same name. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, as of the 2010 census, the main island was inhabited by 20,281,545 people, while the entire Mindanao island group had an estimated total of 25,537,691 (2018) residents. According to the 2015 Philippine Population Census, Davao City is the most populous city on the island, with a population of 1,632,991 residents, followed by Zamboanga City (pop. 861,799), Cagayan de"
"divided into 17 regions (16 administrative and 1 autonomous). Most government offices are established by region instead of individual provincial offices, usually (but not always) in the city designated as the regional center. , CALABARZON was the most populated region while the National Capitol Region (NCR) the most densely populated. The Philippines is an archipelago composed of about 7,641 islands with a total land area, including inland bodies of water, of . The of coastline makes it the country with the fifth longest coastline in the world. The Exclusive economic zone of the Philippines covers . It is located between"
"Mindanao in terms of population is shown in the table below. Mindanao is the second largest island in the Philippines at 97,530 square kilometers, and is the eighth most populous island in the world. The island of Mindanao is larger than 125 countries worldwide, including the Netherlands, South Korea, Austria, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Ireland. The island is mountainous, and is home to Mount Apo, the highest mountain in the country. Mindanao is surrounded by four seas: the Sulu Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the south, and the Mindanao"
"Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. It is ranked 15th largest in the world by land area. Located in the northern region of the archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as well as Quezon City, the country's most populous city. With a population of 53 million , it is the fourth most populous island in the world (after Java, Honshu, and Great Britain), having about 53% of the country's total population. Luzon may also refer to one of the"
"numbers. Currently, the Philippine Government has no desire to contest the sovereignty of Indonesian Government over Miangas Island and respect the Indonesian administration over the Island. Territories claimed by the Philippines The Philippines has claimed many territories throughout its history. These include the Spratly Islands, Sabah, Scarborough Shoal, Palmias or Miangas Island, the Sangir Islands, Orchid Island, Marianas Islands and Caroline Islands. The Philippines claims 52 features in the Spratly Island group. Among these, the Philippines was only able to occupy 7 islands and 2 reefs. These include Thitu (""Pagasa"") Island (2nd largest), West York (""Likas"") island (3rd largest), Northeast"
"Taganak Island Taganak Island is a small tropical island surrounded by the Sulu Sea in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. The island is the largest of the seven Philippine Turtle Islands. The island is at the very edge of the international treaty limits separating the Philippines from Malaysia. Taganak contains about with the highest point at . The island is about one mile in length. As one of the Philippine Turtle Islands the island enjoys the historical distinction of being territory that was not under Philippine administration at the time of independence in 1946. The State of North Borneo, a"
"principal religion, the Roman Catholic Church in some of Mindoro's parts is also active, so are a few independent subdivisions, like Iglesia Ni Cristo and Philippine Independent Church, as well as the Baptist Church. Mindoro is also home to the tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo (""Bubalus mindorensis""), which is endemic to the island. The tamaraw is a bovine related to the water buffalo (carabao) and is an endangered species. Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest island in the Philippines by land area with a total of 10,571 km ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and with a total population of 1,331,473 as"
"Lighthouses in the Philippines With the Philippine Archipelago comprising over 7,100 islands packed in an area of , the country has the fifth-longest coastline in the world. The Philippine coast has a total length of and is very irregular, with numerous bays, gulfs, and islets. Eleven of the largest islands of the archipelago are the major islands and main centers of population, with ten of its most populous cities located along the coast. Approximately 1,000 of the smaller islands are also populated. With more than of coasting routes and tortuous channels regularly navigated by vessels trading among some 300 separate"
"Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest island in the Philippines by land area with a total of 10,571 km ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and with a total population of 1,331,473 as of 2015. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luzon and northeast of Palawan. Mindoro is divided into two provinces Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. San Jose is the largest settlement on the island with a total population of 143,430 inhabitants as of 2015. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea. Mount Halcon is the highest point on the island, standing at"
"with the United States while affirming that the country will no longer participates in any US-led war. The Philippines is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. These are further divided into 17 regions, 81 provinces, 145 cities, 1,489 municipalities, and 42,036 barangays. In addition, Section 2 of Republic Act No. 5446 asserts that the definition of the territorial sea around the Philippine archipelago does not affect the claim over the eastern part of Sabah. ""Regions"" in the Philippines are administrative divisions that serve primarily to organize the provinces of the country for administrative convenience. The Philippines is"
"its largest island, Palawan Island (), measuring long, and wide. The early history of Palawan was determined by a team of researchers led by Dr. Robert B. Fox. They found evidence in the Tabon Caves that humans have lived in Palawan for more than 50,000 years. They also found human bone fragments, from an individual known as Tabon Man, in the municipality of Quezon, as well as tools and other artifacts. Although the origin of the cave dwellers is not yet established, anthropologists believe they came from Borneo. The Tabon Caves are now known as the ""Cradle of Philippine Civilization"""
"traditional craftsmanship. The country currently possesses at least three UNESCO intangible cultural heritage elements, one of which, the ""Hudhud Epic Chants of the Ifugao"", was declared by UNESCO as one of the eleven great traditions of humanity. The other two elements inscribed by UNESCO are the ""Darangen Chant of the Maranao people of Lake Lanao"" and the ""Punnuk tug-of-war Game of the Ifugao"". The following elements are select intangible heritage of the Philippines: As an archipelago composed of 7,641 islands, the Philippines offers a range of attractions such as the white sand beaches of Boracay, shopping centers of Metro Manila,"
"the Asian continent by lowered sea levels. The other main factor that defines the Philippine ecoregions is elevation; the high mountains of Luzon and Mindanao host distinct montane rain forest ecoregions. The mountains of Luzon are also home to the Luzon tropical pine forests. Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests<br> Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests<br> Ecoregions in the Philippines The Philippine archipelago is one of the world's great reservoirs of biodiversity and endemism. The archipelago includes over 7000 islands, and a total land area of 300,780 km². The Philippines was never connected to mainland Asia via land bridges, so the"
"Lubang Island Lubang Island is the largest island in the Lubang Group of Islands, an archipelago which lies to the northwest of the northern end of Mindoro in the Philippines. The Lubang Islands are about southwest of Manila. There are seven islands in the group, The island is divided into two municipalities. The largest settlement is the town of Lubang, the northwest end of the island. Its town center is about northwest of Tilik Port, the only safe anchorage on Lubang Island. The southeastern half of the island is covered by the Municipality of Looc. The Lubang island group, which"
"for 58.78% while the Americas accounted for 19.28% and Europe 10.64%. The Department of Tourism has responsibility for the management and promotion of the tourism sector. The country's rich biodiversity is one of the main tourist attractions with its beaches, mountains, rainforests, islands and diving spots among the most popular tourist destinations. As an archipelago consisting of about 7,500 islands, the Philippines has numerous beaches, caves and other rock formations. Boracay has glaring white sand beaches and was named as the best island in the world by Travel + Leisure in 2012. The Banaue Rice Terraces in Ifugao, the historic"
"Ecoregions in the Philippines The Philippine archipelago is one of the world's great reservoirs of biodiversity and endemism. The archipelago includes over 7000 islands, and a total land area of 300,780 km². The Philippines was never connected to mainland Asia via land bridges, so the flora and fauna of the islands had to cross ocean straits to reach the Philippines. The Philippines is part of the Indomalaya ecozone, and its flora and fauna is mostly derived from tropical Asia. Botanically, the Philippines are part of Malesia, a floristic province that includes the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, and New Guinea. Most of"
"largest butterflies in the world and the largest in the Philippines, the Magellan birdwing can be found here. The largest moth, the Atlas moth, can be found in the Philippines. Crustaceans are very diverse in the archipelago. More than 50 species of freshwater crabs (in genera ""Carpomon"", ""Insulamon"", ""Isolapotamon"", ""Mainitia"", ""Mindoron"", ""Ovitamon"", ""Parathelphusa"" and ""Sundathelphusa"") are known from the Philippines and all are endemic to the country. At the very least, one-third of the more than 9,250 vascular plant species native to the Philippines are endemic. There are, however, no plant families endemic to the country. The families of gingers,"
"of the Luzon island group. The largest include Palawan, Mindoro, Masbate, Catanduanes, Marinduque, Romblon and Polillo. The island is covered by 8 administrative regions, 30 provinces and, , 68 cities (8 regions, 38 provinces and 71 cities if associated islands are included). One of the regions, Mimaropa, is geographically part of the Visayas according to the non-centric view. This is contested by imperial Manila through the Manila-centric view. Majority of scholars in the Philippines consider Mimaropa as part of the Visayas, in line with the non-centric view. Luzon is part of the Philippine Mobile Belt, a fast deforming plate boundary"
"Sea to the north. Of all the islands of the Philippines, Mindanao shows the greatest variety of physiographic development. High, rugged, faulted mountains; almost isolated volcanic peaks; high rolling plateaus; and broad, level, swampy plains are found there. The Mindanao island group is an arbitrary grouping of islands in southern Philippines which comprises the Mindanao mainland, the Sulu Archipelago (consisting of the islands of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-tawi), and the outlying islands of Camiguin, Dinagat, Siargao, and Samal. Platycerium grande is endemic to the island The mountains of Mindanao can be grouped into ten ranges, including both complex structural mountains"
"Negros Island Negros is the fourth largest island of the Philippines, with a land area of . Negros is one of the many islands that comprise the Visayas, which forms the central division of the nation. The predominant inhabitants of the island region are mainly called ""Negrenses"" (locally ""Negrosanons""). As of 2015, Negros' total population is 4,414,131 inhabitants. From May 29, 2015 to August 9, 2017, the whole island was governed as an administrative region which was officially named the Negros Island Region which comprised the highly urbanized city of Bacolod and the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental,"
"and Magsaysay: Altogether, 45,718 people inhabit the Cuyo group of islands. Some of the main islands, or island groups, are: Cuyo Archipelago The Cuyo Archipelago or Cuyo Islands, is a group of about 45 islands lying to the northeast of the Philippines island of Palawan. It lies south of Mindoro and between Northern Palawan and Panay. It is centered on the largest island of the archipelago, Cuyo Island, with an area of and is about long. The 45 islands and islets of the archipelago form a total land area of . Cuyo is divided into two island groups. To the"
"Greater Philippines Greater Philippines is an irredentist concept in the Philippines supporting the inclusion of eastern Sabah as a part of the country's territory. The term may also extend to various other proposed scenarios that include any or all of the following: Scarborough Shoal, the Macclesfield Bank, and the Spratly Islands (officially claimed by the government as the ""Kalayaan"" Islands). The Philippine Archipelago is the core component of Greater Philippines. As described in Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution, the Philippine Archipelago is part of Philippine territory. This provision has appeared in the 1935 Philippine Constitution for the first time,"
"to above sea level and is located on the island of Mindanao. The Galathea Depth in the Philippine Trench is the deepest point in the country and the third deepest in the world. The trench is located in the Philippine Sea. The longest river is the Cagayan River in northern Luzon. Manila Bay, upon the shore of which the capital city of Manila lies, is connected to Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines, by the Pasig River. Subic Bay, the Davao Gulf, and the Moro Gulf are other important bays. The San Juanico Strait separates the islands"
"Central Luzon Central Luzon (, , , ), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines, primarily serving to organize the 7 provinces of the vast central plains of the island of Luzon (the largest island), for administrative convenience. The region contains the largest plain in the country and produces most of the country's rice supply, earning itself the nickname ""Rice Granary of the Philippines"". Its provinces are: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales. The current name of the region is in reference to its position on Luzon island. The term was coined by"
"and Bonifacio Global City. Industry is concentrated in and around the urban areas of Metro Manila while agriculture predominates in the other regions of the island producing crops such as rice, bananas, mangoes, coconuts, pineapple, and coffee. Other sectors include livestock raising, tourism, mining, and fishing. Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. It is ranked 15th largest in the world by land area. Located in the northern region of the archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as well as"
"off Taganak Island. The island is also a transit point for smuggling of goods including turtle eggs. The island has also been cited as a transit point for illegal migration into Malaysia. There is a municipal police station on the island. Taganak Island Taganak Island is a small tropical island surrounded by the Sulu Sea in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. The island is the largest of the seven Philippine Turtle Islands. The island is at the very edge of the international treaty limits separating the Philippines from Malaysia. Taganak contains about with the highest point at . The island"
"Samar Samar ( ) is the third largest island in the Philippines. Located in eastern Visayas, within central Philippines. The island is divided into three provinces: Samar (the western two-fifths of the island of Samar), Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. These three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of Leyte and Biliran are part of the Eastern Visayas region. Samar is the easternmost island in Visayas. The island is separated from Leyte by the San Juanico Strait, which at its narrowest point is only about across. This strait is crossed by the San Juanico Bridge. Samar lies"
"tranquility and an exciting nightlife. Mindanao, the southernmost island of the Philippines, is known for its mountain ranges; it is one of the best climbing destinations in the Philippines. Mindanao is home to the country's highest mountain, Mount Apo. On average, it takes two days to reach the summit. The mountain has a wide range of flora and fauna, including over 272 bird species, 111 of which are endemic to the area, including the national bird, the Philippine eagle. Mount Apo has become a popular hiking destination for mountain climbers. Filipino cuisine is the polymerization of 144 distinct cuisines in"