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1,150 miles
- The archipelago stretches about 1,150 miles (1,850 km) from north to south, and its widest east-west extent, at its southern base, is some 700 miles (1,130 km).
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The archipelago is around 800 kilometers (500 mi) from the Asian mainland and is located between Taiwan and Borneo. The Philippine archipelago is divided into three Island groups: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. The Luzon islands include Luzon itself, Palawan, Mindoro, Marinduque, Masbate, Romblon, Catanduanes, Batanes, and Polillo.
- Overview
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- Soils
- Climate
Philippines, island country of Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. It is an archipelago consisting of more than 7,000 islands and islets lying about 500 miles (800 km) off the coast of Vietnam. Manila is the capital, but nearby Quezon City is the country’s most-populous city. Both are part of the National Capital Region (Metro Manila), located on Luzon, the largest island. The second largest island of the Philippines is Mindanao, in the southeast.
The Philippines takes its name from Philip II, who was king of Spain during the Spanish colonization of the islands in the 16th century. Because it was under Spanish rule for 333 years and under U.S. tutelage for a further 48 years, the Philippines has many cultural affinities with the West. It is, for example, the second most-populous Asian country (following India) with English as an official language and one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia (the other being East Timor). Despite the prominence of such Anglo-European cultural characteristics, the peoples of the Philippines are Asian in consciousness and aspiration.
The country was wracked by political turmoil in the last quarter of the 20th century. After enduring more than a decade of authoritarian rule under Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, the broadly popular People Power movement in 1986 led a bloodless uprising against the regime. The confrontation resulted not only in the ouster and exile of Marcos but also in the restoration of democratic government to the Philippines
Contemporary Filipinos continue to grapple with a society that is replete with paradoxes, perhaps the most obvious being the presence of extreme wealth alongside tremendous poverty. Rich in resources, the Philippines has the potential to build a strong industrial economy, but the country remains largely agricultural. Especially toward the end of the 20th century, rapid industrial expansion was spurred by a high degree of domestic and foreign investment. That growth, however, simultaneously contributed to severe degradation of the environment. The Philippines also emerged as a regional leader in education during the late 20th century, with a well-established public school and university system, and by the early 21st century the country had one of the highest literacy rates in Asia.
Britannica Quiz
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The Philippine archipelago is bounded by the Philippine Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south, the Sulu Sea to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the west and north. The islands spread out in the shape of a triangle, with those south of Palawan, the Sulu Archipelago, and the island of Mindanao outlining (from west to east, respective...
Outstanding physical features of the Philippines include the irregular configuration of the archipelago, the coastline of some 22,550 miles (36,290 km), the great extent of mountainous country, the narrow and interrupted coastal plains, the generally northward trend of the river systems, and the spectacular lakes. The islands are composed primarily of volcanic rock and coral, but all principal rock formations are present. The mountain ranges for the most part run in the same general direction as the islands themselves, approximately north to south.
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The Cordillera Central, the central mountain chain of Luzon, running north to the Luzon Strait from the northern boundary of the central plain, is the most prominent range. It consists of two and in places three parallel ranges, each with an average elevation of about 5,900 feet (1,800 metres). The Sierra Madre, extending along the Pacific coast from northern to central Luzon, is the longest mountain range in the country. That range and the Cordillera Central merge in north-central Luzon to form the Caraballo Mountains. To the north of the latter, and between the two ranges, is the fertile Cagayan Valley. The narrow Ilocos, or Malayan, range, lying close along the west coast of northern Luzon, rises in places to elevations above 5,000 feet (1,500 metres) and is seldom below 3,500 feet (1,000 metres); it is largely volcanic. In the southwestern part of northern Luzon are the rugged Zambales Mountains, consisting of more or less isolated old volcanic stocks (rock formed under great heat and pressure deep beneath the Earth’s surface).
Most of the central plain of Luzon, about 150 by 50 miles (240 by 80 km), is only about 100 feet (30 metres) above sea level. The greater part of southern Luzon is occupied by isolated volcanoes and irregular masses of hills and mountains. The highest peak is Mayon Volcano (8,077 feet [2,462 metres)]), near the city of Legaspi (Legazpi) in Albay province on the island’s Bicol Peninsula in the southeast.
The island of Palawan is about 25 miles (40 km) wide and more than 250 miles (400 km) long; through it extends a range with an average elevation of 4,000 to 5,000 feet (1,200 to 1,500 metres). Each of the Visayan Islands except Samar and Bohol is traversed longitudinally by a single range with occasional spurs. Several peaks on Panay and Negros reach a height of 6,000 feet (1,800 metres) or more. Mount Canlaon (Canlaon Volcano), on Negros, rises to 8,086 feet (2,465 metres).
The most important rivers of the Philippines are the Cagayan, Agno, Pampanga, Pasig, and Bicol on Luzon and the Mindanao (Río Grande de Mindanao) and Agusan on Mindanao. The northern plain between the Sierra Madre and the Cordillera Central is drained by the Cagayan, while the central plain is drained in the north by the Agno and in the south by the Pampanga. The Pasig, which flows through the city of Manila, was once commercially important as a nexus for interisland trade but is no longer navigable except by small craft; heavy pollution has required significant cleanup efforts. Most of the Bicol Peninsula lies in the Bicol basin. On Mindanao the Agusan drains the fertile lands of the island’s northeastern quadrant, while the Mindanao River drains the Cotabato Valley in the southwest. One of the Philippines’ most unique waterways lies underground, emerging directly into the ocean at Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park on the island of Palawan; the park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.
The largest lake in the archipelago, with an area of 356 square miles (922 square km), is Laguna de Bay, on the island of Luzon. Also on Luzon and just to the southwest of Laguna de Bay is Taal Lake, which occupies 94 square miles (244 square km) inside a volcanic crater; a volcanic cone emerges from the lake’s centre. Lake Sultan Alonto on Mindanao is the country’s second largest lake, covering an area of 131 square miles (340 square km).
The alluvial plains and terraces of Luzon and Mindoro have dark black cracking clays, as well as younger soils that are especially suitable for rice cultivation. Much of the land of the hilly and mountainous regions consists of moist, fertile soils, often with a significant concentration of volcanic ash, that support fruit trees and pineapples. Oil...
The climate of the Philippines is tropical and strongly monsoonal (i.e., wet-dry). In general, rain-bearing winds blow from the southwest from approximately May to October, and drier winds come from the northeast from November to February. Thus, temperatures remain relatively constant from north to south during the year, and seasons consist of periods of wet and dry. Throughout the country, however, there are considerable variations in the frequency and amount of precipitation. The western shores facing the South China Sea have the most marked dry and wet seasons. The dry season generally begins in December and ends in May, the first three months being cool and the second three hot; the rest of the year constitutes the wet season. The dry season shortens progressively to the east until it ceases to occur. During the wet season, rainfall is heavy in all parts of the archipelago except for an area extending southward through the centre of the Visayan group to central Mindanao and then southwestward through the Sulu Archipelago; rain is heaviest along the eastern shores facing the Pacific Ocean.
From June to December tropical cyclones (typhoons) often strike the Philippines. Most of these storms come from the southeast, their frequency generally increasing from south to north; in some years the number of cyclones reaches 25 or more. Typhoons are heaviest in Samar, Leyte, south-central Luzon, and the Batan Islands, and, when accompanied by floods or high winds, they may cause great loss of life and property. Mindanao is generally free from such storms.
The Philippines is generally mountainous; uplands make up 65 percent of the country's total land area. [53 204] The Philippines is an archipelago of about 7,641 islands, [205] [206] covering a total area (including inland bodies of water) of about 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi).
Jul 17, 2023 · The archipelago encompasses a total area of approximately 300,000 km 2 (about 115,830 mi 2). The geographical profile of the Philippines is broadly divisible into three regions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Dec 17, 2021 · Geography. Location. Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam. Geographic coordinates. 13 00 N, 122 00 E. Map references. Southeast Asia. Area. total: 300,000 sq km. land: 298,170 sq km. water: 1,830 sq km. country comparison to the world: 74. Area - comparative.
Philippines, officially Republic of the Philippines, Island country, western Pacific Ocean, on an archipelago off the southeast coast of Asia. Area: 115,830 sq mi (300,000 sq km). Population: (2024 est.) 116,628,000.
Sep 15, 2019 · Updated on September 15, 2019. The Philippines, officially called the Republic of the Philippines, is an island nation located in the western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea. The country is an archipelago made up of 7,107 islands and is near the countries of Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
