Everything about Luzon totally explained
Luzon is the largest and most economically and politically important
island in the
Philippines and one of the three island groups in the country, with
Visayas and
Mindanao being the other two. Luzon as an island group includes the island of Luzon itself, plus the
Batanes and
Babuyan groups of islands to the north, and the main and outlying islands of
Catanduanes,
Marinduque,
Masbate,
Romblon, and
Mindoro in the south. The island group of
Palawan, which used to be a province belonging to an administrative region of Luzon, has been transferred to Region VI in the Visayas in 2005 (Palawan is still part of Southern Luzon). Luzon was once known in Chinese history as the "Lesser
Song Empire" or
Luzon Empire . Her rulers were recognized as kings and not merely chieftains. The first European explorers recorded it in their charts as Luçonia or Luçon and inhabitants were called Luçoes . Under Spain, Luzon also came to be known as the
Nueva Castilla or the
New Castile.
Administrative divisions
The eight regions are listed below, discussed individually.
Its administrative centers are for formality's sake only, meaning, there's no 'valid' regional administrative center (except in the case of Administrative regions), the power being vested by the provincial governments. The regional centers are only the head tourist offices for the region.
Ilocos Region (Region I) is located in the northwest portion of the main island. Its provinces are:
Ilocos Norte,
Ilocos Sur,
La Union, and
Pangasinan. Its inhabitants are mostly of
Ilocano descent and the main languages are
Ilokano and
Pangasinan. The region's administrative center is
San Fernando City, La Union. The city of
Vigan in Ilocos province is the oldest surviving Spanish colonial city in the Philippines.
Cagayan Valley (Region II) is located in the northeast portion of the main island and also covers the Batanes and Babuyan islands to the north. The valley is surrounded by the
Cordillera Central and
Sierra Madre mountain ranges. Running through its center is the country's longest river, Cagayan River. Its provinces are Batanes,
Cagayan,
Isabela,
Nueva Vizcaya, and
Quirino. The region's administrative center is
Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province.
Central Luzon (Region III) contains the largest
plain of the country and produces most of the country's
rice supply. Its provinces are
Aurora,
Bataan,
Bulacan,
Nueva Ecija,
Pampanga,
Tarlac, and
Zambales. The region's administrative center is the
City of San Fernando, Pampanga. The former
United States Navy base of
Subic Bay is located in Subic, Zambales province while the former
United States Air Force of
Clark Field is situated in Angeles City, Pampanga. Both are now the country's booming special economic zones. The main languages are
Kapampangan and
Tagalog.
CALABARZON (Region IV-A), one of the newest regions of the country, was previously a part of
Southern Tagalog (Region IV). It is one of the most populated areas of the country. The name of the region is actually an acronym that stands for its provinces, which are
Cavite,
Laguna,
Batangas,
Rizal, and
Quezon. The Tagalogs are the dominant ethnic group in this region, with
Tagalog as the main language. Its recognized administrative center is
Manila, which is in
Metro Manila, however, some government officials still consider
Quezon City, which is also in
Metro Manila as the administrative center, and also,
Lucena City, in
Quezon province.
MIMARO (Region IV-B), along with CALABARZON is the newest region of the country, and was previously a part of Southern Tagalog (Region IV). It contains most of the islands in the Luzon group. The name of the region is actually an acronym that stands for its provinces, which are
Marinduque,
Occidental Mindoro,
Oriental Mindoro,
Romblon, and formerly
Palawan, which is now in the
Western Visayas region.
Bicol Region (Region V) occupies the
Bicol Peninsula at the southeastern end of Luzon island, plus the outlying islands which include the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate. The remaining mainland provinces are
Albay,
Camarines Norte,
Camarines Sur, and
Sorsogon. The region's administrative center is
Legazpi City in Albay. The inhabitants are of Bicolano descent with
Bikol as the main language.
Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) almost completely covers the
Cordillera Central mountain range of Northern Luzon. CAR, created in
1989 is a special administrative region for the indigenous tribes of these mountains. Its provinces are
Abra,
Apayao,
Benguet,
Ifugao,
Kalinga, and
Mountain Province. The regional center is
Baguio City.
National Capital Region (NCR) is a special administrative region that contains the capital of the country, Manila; the country's most populous city, Quezon City; and an additional 15 more cities and municipalities. The region is more popularly known as
Metro Manila. It is the only region in the country that has no provinces, and is the most densely populated with over 10 million people living in a 636 km² area.
Geography
Luzon's area is
104,688 square kilometers, making it the
world's 15th largest island. It is the fifth
most populous island in the world. Located on Luzon are the country's capital,
Manila, and its most populous city,
Quezon City. The island is very
mountainous and is home to
Mount Pulag, the second highest mountain in the country and
Mayon, the most famous
volcano. To the west of Luzon island is the
South China Sea (Luzon Sea in Philippine territorial waters), to the east is the
Philippine Sea, and to the north is
Luzon Strait containing
Babuyan Channel and
Balintang Channel.
The main part of the island is roughly rectangular in shape and has the long
Bicol Peninsula protruding to the southeast. The northern part of the island contains the largest
mountain range in the country, the
Cordillera Central.
Mount Pulag, the second highest mountain in the country, is located there, rising 2,922 meters. To the east of the Cordillera Central is the large
Cagayan Valley, which serves as the basin for the
Cagayan River, the longest river in the Philippines. To the east of the valley rises the
Sierra Madre mountain range, easily the longest range in the country.
The Sierra Madre snakes southwards into the central and southern part of the island. Between it and the
Zambales Mountains to the west is the largest plain, the Central Luzon plain. This plain, approximately 11,000 km² in size, is the country's largest producer of rice. Among the rivers irrigating this plain, the longest are
Agno to the north, and
Pampanga to the south. In the middle of the plain rises the solitary
Mount Arayat. To the west, in the Zambales Mountains, rises
Mount Pinatubo, made famous because of its enormous
1991 eruption.
The Zambales mountains extends to the sea in the north, forming
Lingayen Gulf, home to the
Hundred Islands National Park. To the south, the mountains also extend into the sea, forming the
Bataan Peninsula, which encloses the
Manila Bay. This natural
harbor is considered to be one of the best natural ports in East Asia, due to its size and strategic geographical location.
To the southeast of Manila Bay is the largest lake in the country, and also the largest inland lake in Southeast Asia, the
Laguna de Bay (Old Spanish, Lake of Bay town). This 949 km² lake is drained by the
Pasig River into Manila Bay. Pasig River is one of the most important rivers in the country due to its historical significance and because it runs through the center of
Metro Manila.
Located just 20 km southwest of Laguna de Bay is
Taal Lake, within the southwestern portion of the island. This caldera of a lake contains the smallest
volcano of the country,
Taal Volcano, which rises on the island in the center of the lake. The volcano in turn has a lake in its crater. All the surrounding areas of Taal Lake were once part of a massive prehistoric volcano that covered the southern portion of the province of Cavite, Tagaytay City, and the whole of Batangas province.
Off the southwestern portion of Luzon is the island of Mindoro, separated by the
Verde Island Passages. The passages connect the South China Sea to the east with the
Tayabas Bay. To the south of the bay is the island of Marinduque.
The southeastern portion of Luzon is dominated by the
Bicol Peninsula. This is a mountainous and narrow region that extends approximately 150 km southeast. Along it are numerous gulfs and bays. In the north is
Lamon Bay, which contains
Alabat Island and is south of the
Polillo Islands of
Quezon province. Other bays and gulfs include
San Miguel Bay,
Lagonoy Gulf,
Ragay Gulf, and
Sorsogon Bay.
To the east of the peninsula lies the island of Catanduanes. Leading to it's the
Caramoan Peninsula. Off the southeast tip of Bicol is
Samar island, separated by
San Bernardino Strait. Bicol Peninsula is connected to the main part of Luzon through the
Tayabas Isthmus. Extending south from the isthmus is the
Bondoc Peninsula.
The Bicol Peninsula is also home to numerous volcanoes. The most famous is
Mayon Volcano in
Albay. This 2,460 m high volcano is symmetrically shaped, rivaling that of
Mount Fuji in
Japan, and is a symbol of the
Bicol Region. Other notable mountains are
Mount Isarog and
Mount Iriga in
Camarines Sur, and
Mount Bulusan in
Sorsogon.
Located off the southwestern coast of the Bicol Peninsula are the islands of
Ticao,
Burias, and Masbate.
Tectonics
Luzon is a mobile belt, or a fast deforming plate boundary zone -- hemmed in between two opposing subduction zones, the west-dipping
Philippine Trench -- East-Luzon Trough subduction zone, and the east-dipping north-south trending
Manila Trench(Hamburger et al., 1982). The Philippine Sea Plate subducts under Luzon on the east (along the Philippine Trench) while the Sunda block (part of the Eurasian plate subducts under Luzon along the Manila Trench at the western part (Rangin, et al., 1999).
The N-sW trending left-lateral strike-slip Philippine Fault System traverses Luzon, from
Quezon province/
Bicol to the northwestern part of the island. This fault system takes up part of the motion due to the subducting plates and produces large earthquakes. Southwest of Luzon is a collision zone where the
Palawan-
Borneo block collides with SW Luzon, producing a highly seismic zone near
Mindoro island. SW Luzon is characterized by a highly volcanic zone, called the
Macolod Corridor, a region of crustal thinning and spreading.
Using seismic and geodetic data, Luzon has been modeled as a series of six micro blocks or micro plates, all moving and rotating in different directions, with maximum velocities ~100 mm/yr NW with respect to Sundaland/Eurasia (Galgana et al., 2007). This highly deforming, multi-block nature of Luzon is also noted in its Geologic make up, as cited by Pubellier et al.(2004) among others.
Economy
The economy of the island is centered in
Makati.
Agriculture predominates in
Central Luzon.
Demographics
Ethnic groups
The people of Luzon belong to the
Filipino people, and are divided into several
ethnolinguistic groups. These groups inhabit different areas of the island.
Ilocanos predominate in the regions of
Ilocos and the Cagayan Valley,
Pangasinense primarily inhabit
Pangasinan, while the
Kapampangans primarily live in
Pampanga,
Tarlac and the rest of Central Luzon. Meanwhile,
Tagalogs are the majority in
CALABARZON, and
Metro Manila while
Bicolanos predominate in
Bicol. Other ethnic groups are also present such as the
Aeta of
Zambales, the
Ibanag of
Cagayan, and the
Igorot of the
Cordilleras.
Due to recent migrations populations of
Hindus,
Moros, and
Chinese have also been present in urban areas. Populations of
Spanish,
Americans,
Japanese,
Koreans,
Desis,
Blacks, and
Filipino mestizos are also visible. Most Americans have settled in
Angeles City and
Olongapo City due to the presence of the U.S. air and naval bases in Central Luzon.
Languages
Borneo-Philippines group of the
Malayo-Polynesian language branch of the
Austronesian language family. Major regional languages include:
Tagalog,
Ilocano,
Kapampangan,
Bikol, and
Pangasinan.
English and
Lan-nang-oe, a variant of Hokkien (
Min Nan), is also used by many inhabitants.
Spanish has a history on the island, primarily due to educated illustrados (including
José Rizal) as well as authorities of the
Spanish Empire. Spanish was the language of
Philippine Revolution, and the 1899 Malolos Constitution proclaimed it as the official language. However, its use declined following the American occupation of the Philippines.
Religion
Roman Catholicism,
Protestantism, the
Philippine Independent Church, and
Iglesia ni Cristo. Indigenous traditions and rituals are also present.
Sizable communities of
Buddhists and
Muslims have also began to be present in
Metro Manila due to migrations of
Moros and
Chinese.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Luzon'.
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