Geography ofPhilippines
The Philippinesan archipelago7,107 islands withtotal land area300,000 km². The 11 largest islands contain 94% oftotal land area. The largestthese islandsLuzon at about 105,000 km². The next largest islandMindanao at about 94,600 km². The archipelagoaround 800 km fromAsian mainlandis located between TaiwanBorneo.
The islandsdivided into three groups: Luzon, Visayas,Mindanao. The Luzon islands include Luzon itself, Mindoro, Palawan,Masbate. The Visayas isgroupseveral small islands,largestwhich are: Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte,Samar. The Mindanao islands include Mindanao itself, plusSulu Archipelago, composed primarilyBasilan, Sulu,Tawi-Tawi.
Climate
The local climatehot, humid,tropical. The average yearly temperaturearound 26.5° Celsius. Filipinos generally recognize three seasons: Tag-init or Tag-araw (hot season / summer; MarchMay), Tag-ulan (rainy season; JuneNovember),Tag-lamig (cold season; DecemberFebruary). MostMindanao, part ofVisayas,southern Luzon have no pronouched dry or rainy seasons.
From JuneSeptember,monsoon blows fromsouthwest (habagat). From October through April,monsoon blows fromnortheast (amihan).
The countryalso astridetyphoon belt ofWestern Pacific. The Philippinesstruck by about 10 typhoons per year.
Terrain
The islandsvolcanicorigin, being part ofPacific RingFire, andmostly mountainous. The highest point incountry ispeakMt. ApoMindanao, which2,954 m above sea level. The second highest point can be found on Luzon at Mt. Pulog, withpeak 2,842 m above sea level.
Many volcanoes incountryactive,most recent violent eruption being thatMt. Pinatubo on Luzon1991. Taal Volcano, also located on Luzon,one ofdecade volcanoes.
The islands typically have narrow coastal plainsnumerous swift-running streams. Every island has sand beaches, but few open onto spacious lowlands. Therefew large plains or navigable rivers.
Most ofislands usedbe coveredtropical rainforests, however, dueillegal logging,forest cover has been reducedless than 10% oftotal land area.
Other Information
Area:
total:
300,000 kmē
land:
298,170 kmē
water:
1,830 kmē
Coastline: 36,289 km
Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf:
to depthexploitation
exclusive economic zone:
200 nautical miles
territorial sea:
irregular polygon extending up100 nautical miles from coastline as defined by 1898 treaty; since late 1970s has also claimed polygonal-shaped areaSouth China Sea up285 nautical milesbreadth.
Natural resources: timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver, gold, salt, copper
Land use:
arable land:
19%
permanent crops:
12%
permanent pastures:
4%
forestswoodland:
46%
other:
19% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 15,800 kmē (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15struck by fivesix cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active volcanoes; destructive earthquakes; tsunamis
Environment - current issues: uncontrolled deforestationwatershed areas; soil erosion; airwater pollutionManila; increasing pollutioncoastal mangrove swamps whichimportant fish breeding grounds
Environment - international agreements:
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law ofSea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
Distances from Manila:
- 10,000 km -- San Francisco, California
- 8,000 km -- Honolulu, Hawaii
- 3,400 km -- Chuuk, Caroline Islands
- 2,900 km -- Tokyo, Japan
- 2,400 km -- Singapore
- 1,000 km -- Taiwan & Hong Kong
