Mindoro

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Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the

Mindoro is the seventh (7th) largest island in the Philippines. It is divided by two provinces Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. Mindoro Mountain Range is the largest and longest mountain range in the island with a total length of 200 km (120 mi) north-south and 58 km (36 mi) width east–west. Mount Halcon, at 8,484 feet (2,586 meters), is the island’s highest point and is located in Oriental Mindoro.

Topography

Mindoro Mountain Range List of highest Peaks by elevation.

• Mount Halcon 8,583 ft (2,616 m)
• Mount Baco
  8,163 ft (2,488 m)
• Mount Wood 6,640 ft (2,020 m)
• Mount Sinclair 6,135 ft (1,870 m)
• Mount Patrick 5,515 ft (1,681 m)
• Mount Indie 5,472 ft (1,668 m)
• Mount Merril 5,151 ft (1,570 m)
• Mount Calavite 4,990 ft (1,520 m)
• Mount Tallulah 4,882 ft (1,488 m)
• Babuy Peak 4,757 ft (1,450 m)
• Mount Iglit 4,698 ft (1,432 m)
• Mount Roosevelt 4,567 ft (1,392 m)
• Mount Burburungan 4,255 ft (1,297 m)
• Mount Malasimbo 3,957 ft (1,206 m)
• Mount Balatic 3,934 ft (1,199 m)
• Mount Talipanan 3,812 ft (1,162 m)
• Mt. Abra de Ilog 3,533 ft (1,077 m)
• Mount Mearns 3,274 ft (998 m)
• Mount Alinyaban 3,008 ft (917 m)

River System

List of major river in Mindoro by length.

• Bucayao River 82 km (51 mi)
• Lumintao River 80 km (50 mi)
• Bongabong River 76 km (47 mi)
• Busuanga River 70 km (43 mi)
• Mantangcob River 65.2 km (40.5 mi)
• Balingkawing River 56.7 km (35.2 mi)
• Amnay River 56 km (35 mi)
• Mongpong River 48.2 km (30.0 mi)
• Mag-asawang Tubig 48.2 km (30.0 mi)
• Pagbahan River 48 km (30 mi)
• Arigoy River 48 km (30 mi)
• Lantuyan River 44.5 km (27.7 mi)
• Pandurucan River 43.5 km (27.0 mi)
• Pameyas River 38.8 km (24.1 mi)
• Santa Cruz River 34.2 km (21.3 mi)
• Anahawin River 31.4 km (19.5 mi)
• Abra de Ilog River 27.4 km (17.0 mi)
• Naujan River 19.2 km (11.9 mi)
• Calapan River 15.2 km (9.4 mi)

Etymology

The name Mindoro was likely a corruption of the native name "Minolo". Domingo Navarette ('Tratados...', 1676) wrote "The island which the natives call Minolo is named Mindoro by the Spaniards..." (trans. by Blair and Robertson).^[4]

History

In past times, it has been called

The products that Mindoro traders exchanged with the Chinese included "beeswax, cotton, true pearls, tortoiseshell, medicinal betelnuts and yu-ta [jute?] cloth" for Chinese porcelain, trade gold, iron pots, lead, copper, colored glass beads and iron needles.^[5]

The island was invaded and conquered by the

The island was the location of the Battle of Mindoro in World War II.

Nevertheless, upon Philippine independence, the area recovered and from 1920 to 1950, the island was a single province with Calapan as the provincial capital. In 1950, it was partitioned into its two present-day provinces, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro,^[12] following a referendum.

Economy

The economy of Mindoro is largely based on

Tourism is a lucrative business as well, with locations such as Apo Reef National Park, Lubang Island, Puerto Galera, Sabang Beach and Mount Halcon. Puerto Galera's beaches are the island's most known tourist attraction and are widely visited.

An important aspect of the economy in Mindoro is mining, mostly performed by outside companies owned by foreign countries. While the foreign countries make most of the money from these mines, the Philippine government still receives some economic and financial benefit from allowing them to mine on their lands. These companies include Pitkin Petroleum, a US-based company which is looking for nickel, oil, and gas in Mindoro,^[14] Crew Development Corporation, a Canada-based corporation mining nickel and other precious metals,^[15] and Intex, a Norwegian-based company operating the Mindoro Nickel Project. This project is supposed to last 15 years and should produce over 100 million tons of ore by the end of the project.^[16] Unfortunately, while the mines might be profitable for the national government, they have caused problems to the environment and the indigenous tribes living in Mindoro.

Environment

Mining in Mindoro poses a significant risk to the island's environment. Local and international mining interests have disregarded the island's ecology to gain access to the rich tungsten veins that exist below the surface.^[17] Intex, a Norwegian Mining Company attempted to begin prospecting for tungsten deposits, but was halted by a regional environmental protection ordinance.^[18] Small scale, legal and illegal, environmentally degrading mining operations still persist throughout the island due to a lack of enforcement by the local police.^[19]

Fauna

Mindoro is also home to the

Culture

Languages

The principal language in Mindoro is

The following indigenous languages (all of them being part of the Philippine branch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages family, like also like Ilocano, Bicolano, and the nationally designated official Filipino dialect of Tagalog) are spoken in Mindoro:

• Northern Mindoro languages – 16,000 speakers
  • Iraya – 10,000 speakers
  • Alangan – 2,150 speakers
  • Tadyawan – 4,200 speakers
• Southern Mindoro languages – 30,000 speakers
  • Buhid – 8,000 speakers
  • Tawbuid – 8,000 speakers
  • Hanuno'o
    – 14,000 speakers
• Visayan languages
  • Ratagnon language – 310 speakers

Religion

The common religions on the island fall under

Bibliography

• C.Michael Hogan. 2011. Sulu Sea. Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. P.Saundry & C.J.Cleveland. Washington DC

References

External links

• Media related to Mindoro at Wikimedia Commons
• Geographic data related to Mindoro at OpenStreetMap
• "Map of Mindoro" showing towns and major mountain tops
• Mindoro Tourists and Exploration