GEOGRAPHY: Size and Location:

The Republic of the Philippines consists of more than 7,100 islands in the western Pacific. The islands stretch for more than 1,200 miles from the Bataan Islands near Taiwan in the north to the Sulu Archipelago near Borneo in the south. Only about one-tenth on the islands are inhabited, and fewer than one-half are large enough to have been named. The country has a coastline of about 10,850 miles.More than two-thirds of the nation's land area consists of the two large islands of Luzon in the north and Mindanao in the south. The other major islands of the Philippines include Samar, Leyte, Negros, Panay, Cebu, Bohol,and Masbate. These islands, which lie between Luzon and Mindanao, are known as the Visayan Islands. The long island of Palawan stretches southwestward from Luzon.

Surface Features:

The islands of the Philippines are the higher portions of a partly submerged mountain chain, and the terrain is generally mountainous. The highest point in the islands is Mount Apo in southern Mindanao, w/ an altitude of 9,692 feet. Mount Apo is one of many volcanoes, active or inactive, found throughout the country. Another volcano in southern Luzon, Mount Mayon,is considered one of the most perfectly shaped volcanic cones in the world.Among the main areas of level land are the Cagayan river valley of northern Luzon, the central plain of Luzon,a nd the Agusan River plain on Mindanao. Most of the Visayas Islands have narrow coastal plains.There are few large revers in the Philippines. Among the most important are the Cagayan River,in northern Luzon,and the Agusan River,on Mindanao.The short Pasig River,which flows through the heart of Manila,carries much barge traffic. The only large lakes are Lake Taal and Laguna de Bay, on Luzon,and Lake Lanao, on Mindanao.

The capital, Manila, is only an hour and a half away from Hongkong, about 12 hours from the cities of Europe and 14 hours away from the USA.

 

TIME ZONE

Local time is GMT PLUS 8