About the Philippines

Bodies of Water
The Philippines boast of many different kinds of natural water forms, such as bays, rivers,
lakes falls, gulfs, straits, and swamps. Because it is made up of islands, the country's
coastline, if laid end-to-end, would measure around 17.5 thousand kilometers. The
Philippines is blessed with excellent natural harbors for ports like Manila Bay. Other
excellent harbors with port potentials are found in Ilocos, Pangasinan, Visayas, and
Mindanao. The three largest rivers in the country are the Cagayan River in Northern
Luzon, the Rio Grande de Mindanao, and the Agusan River, also in Mindanao. Also
noteworthy in terms of size are the Agno, Pasig, Angat Pampanga, and Bicol rivers in
Luzon. Most popular among tourist is the famous underground river in Palawan. Aside
from rivers, the country also abounds with lakes. Easily the most famous is the heart-
shaped Laguna de Bay. Other famous lakes are Taal in Batangas, Sampaloc in Laguna,
Buhi and Bulusan in Bicol, Naujan in Mindoro oriental, and Lanao and Mainit in Mindanao.
Generating power for the Nations growth are the magnificent waterfalls that serve as
tourist attractions, as well. The biggest is waterfalls is the Maria Cristina falls, it can be
found in the North Western part of Lanao province in Mindanao, while the most popular is
Pagsanjan falls in Laguna, where tourist came in droves.

Natural Resources
The Philippines is rich in natural resources. It has fertile,
arable lands, diverse flora and fauna, extensive coastlines,
and rich mineral deposits. About 30% of the land area of
the country was determined be geologically prospective by
the Philippine Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau. But Only
1.5% of country's land area is covered with mining permits.
Despite the rich natural resources of the Philippines, the
government is restricting its exploitation. A logging ban is
imposed on many areas of the country and only in select
areas are "sustainable logging" allowed. However illegal
logging and small-scale illegal mining continues is many
areas. In July 2012, President Benigno Aquino III ordered a
stop to all mining activities in all (78 areas) protected and
eco-tourism sites. A positive step in the right direction to
protect the natural resources of the Philippines.

Our Land
The Philippines primary source of livelihood is its fertile
land. Rich, wide plains suitable for farming are found in the
Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, South western Bicol, Panay, Negros, Davao, Cotabato,
Agusan and Bukidnon. The country s six major crops are rice, corn, sugarcane, coconut,
abaca and tobacco. Except for rice and corn, all these products are exported, along with
bananas and pineapples.

Our Forests
The Philippines also boasts of wide tracts of lush, green forests. In fact, almost half of the
countrys total land area is forested. Sixty percent of these forests are found in
Mindanao.

Mineral resources
Except for petroleum and a number of metals, mineral resources abound in Philippine
soil. The countrys mineral deposits can be classified into metals and non-metals. Our
metal deposits are estimated at 21.5 billion metric tons, while non-metal deposits are
projected at 19.3 billion metric tons. Nickel ranks first in terms of deposits and size, it is
found in Surigao del Norte, Davao, Palawan, Romblon and Samar. Iron is found in Ilocos
Norte, Nueva Ecija, Camarines Norte and Cotabato. While copper in Zambales, Batangas,
Mindoro, Panay and Negros. Among non-metal deposits, the most abundant are cement,
lime, and marble. Other non-metals include asbestos, clay, guano, asphalt, feldspar,
sulfur, talc, silicon, phosphate, and marble.

Fishery Resources
With its territorial waters measuring as much as 1.67 million square kilometers and
located in the worlds fishing center, the Philippines is definitely rich in marine resources.
Of the 2,400 fish species found in the country. 65 have good commercial value. Other
marine products include corals, pearls, crabs and seaweeds. Some of the countries best
salt water fishing areas are found in Sintangki Island in Sulu Estancia in Bohol,
Malampaya in Palawan, Lingayen Gulf in Pangasinan, San Miguel lake in Camarines
Norte, Bantayan Channel in Cebu, and the seas of Quezon and Sorsogon.

On the other hand, among our biggest fisher water fishing areas are Laguna de Bay,
Bombon Lake in Batangas, Bato Lake in Canmarines Sur, Naujan Lake in Mindoro and
Mainit lake in Agusan del Norte. Continue to Early Filipinos