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Topography and
Drainage
The Philippine archipelago lies in Southeast Asia in a position that has led
to its becoming a cultural crossroads, a place where Malays, Chinese,
Spaniards, Americans, and others have interacted to forge that unique
cultural and racial blend known to the world as Filipino. The archipelago
numbers some 7,100 islands and the nation claims an exclusive economic zone
(EEZ--see Glossary) of 200 nautical miles from its shores. The Philippines
occupies an area that stretches for 1,850 kilometers from about the fifth to
the twentieth parallels north latitude. The total land area is almost
300,000 square kilometers. Only approximately 1,000 of its islands are
populated, and fewer than one-half of these are larger than 2.5 square
kilometers. Eleven islands make up 94 percent of the Philippine landmass,
and two of these--Luzon and Mindanao--measure 105,000 and 95,000 square
kilometers, respectively. They, together with the cluster of the Visayan
Islands that separate them, represent the three principal regions of the
archipelago that are identified by the three stars on the Philippine flag.
Topographically, the Philippines is broken up by the sea, which gives it one
of the longest coastlines of any nation in the world (see fig. 2). Most
Filipinos live on or near the coast, where they can easily supplement their
diet from approximately 2,000 species of fish.
Off the coast of eastern Mindanao is the Philippine Trough, which descends
to a depth of 10,430 meters. The Philippines is part of a western Pacific
arc system that is characterized by active volcanoes. Among the most notable
peaks are Mount Mayon near Legaspi, Taal Volcano south of Manila, and Mount
Apo on Mindanao. All of the Philippines islands are prone to earthquakes.
The northern Luzon highlands, or Cordillera Central, rise to between 2,500
and 2,750 meters, and, together with the Sierra Madre in the northeastern
portion of Luzon and the mountains of Mindanao, boast rain forests that
provide refuge for numerous upland tribal groups. The rain forests also
offer prime habitat for more than 500 species of birds, including the
Philippine eagle (or monkey-eating eagle), some 800 species of orchids, and
some 8,500 species of flowering plants.
The country's most extensive river systems are the Pulangi (Rio Grande),
which flows into the Mindanao River; the Agusan, in Mindanao which flows
north into the Mindanao Sea; the Cagayan in northern Luzon; and the
Pampanga, which flows south from eastCentral Luzon into Manila Bay. Laguna
de Bay, southeast of Manila Bay, is the largest freshwater lake in the
Philippines. Several rivers have been harnessed for hydroelectric power.
Data as of June 1991
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