10 Biggest Lakes in the Philippines

February 2, 2012 By PhilippinesQnA What are the biggest lakes in the Philippines? The following lakes are the largest lakes in the Philippines in terms of surface area. 1. Laguna de Bay, Luzon Laguna de Bay (93,000 hectares) in Luzon is the largest lake in the Philippines and the third largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. It is in the shape of a W and has an average depth of 2.8 meters. Metro Manila lies on the western shore. 2. Lake Lanao, Mindanao Lake Lanao (34,000 hectares) is in the province of Lanao del Sur. It is fed by four rivers and has a maximum depth of 112 meters.

Lake Taal 3. Lake Taal, Luzon Lake Taal (23,420 hectares) a freshwater lake in the province of Batangas. Near the center of Lake Taal lies Volcano Island, which has its own small crater lake. That crater lake is the worlds largest lake on an island in a lake on an island. That lake also contains its own small island, Vulcan Point. 4. Mainit, Surigao del Norte & Agusan del Norte Lake Mainit (17,340 hectares), in the northeast of Mindanao is the deepest lake in the Philippines, having a maximum depth of 223 meters. 5. Naujan, Oriental Mindoro

Lake Naujan (8,125 hectares) lies to the south of Mount Naujan on the Island of Mindoro. 6. Buluan, Maguindanao & Sultan Kudarat Lake Buluan (6,134 hectares) is a freshwater lake in Mindanao. 7. Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija (5,293 hectares) 8. Bato, Camarines Sur Lake Bato (2,810 hectares) in Luzon has extensive marshes and swamp forests and an average depth of 8 meters.

Lake Pulangi 9. Pulangi, Bukidnon Pulangi Lake (1,985 hectares) is an artificial lake created by a HydroElectric project on the Pulangi River in Mindanao. 10. Buhi, Camarines Sur Lake Buhi (1,707 hectares) has an average depth of 8 meters and is one of the few habitats of the sinarapan (Mistichthys luzonensis) the worlds smallest commercially-harvested fish.

1.) Cagayan River 505 km

Image Source As already mentioned above, Cagayan River is the countrys largest and longest river. It is situated in the most prominent and productive valley in the archipelago the Cagayan Valley. The headwaters of Cagayan River are at the Caraballo Mountains in Central Luzon more than 1,500 meters above sea level. Cagayan River has a drainage area of about 27,300 km.

2.) Mindanao River 373 km

Image Source Mindanao River or Rio Grande de Mindanao is the countrys second largest river system. The river is Mindanaos 2nd largest river and has a drainage area of 23,169 km. It is also the second longest Philippine river with a length of 373 km.