Sierra Madre (Philippines)
Sierra Madre | |
---|---|
Mount Cagua in Cagayan | |
Highest point | |
Peak | Mount Guiwan |
Elevation | 1,915 m (6,283 ft) |
Dimensions | |
Length | 540 km (340 mi) North to south |
Width | 56 km (35 mi) east to west |
Area | 16,260 km2 (6,280 sq mi) |
Geography | |
Country | Philippines |
Province | |
Region | |
Range coordinates | 16°3′N 121°35′E / 16.050°N 121.583°E |
Borders on | Pacific Ocean |
The Sierra Madre is the longest mountain range in the Philippines. Spanning over 540 kilometers (340 mi), it runs from the province of Cagayan down to the province of Quezon, forming a north–south direction on the eastern portion of Luzon, the largest island of the archipelago. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, Cagayan Valley to the northwest, Central Luzon to the midwest, and Calabarzon to the southwest. Some communities east of the mountain range, along the coast, are less developed and so remote that they could only be accessed by taking a plane or a boat.[1]
The country's largest protected area, the
Geography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Northern_Philippines_%28Luzon%29.jpg/220px-Northern_Philippines_%28Luzon%29.jpg)
In the north, the range starts in the province of Cagayan and ends in the south in the province of Quezon. In the province of Nueva Vizcaya, the Caraballo Mountains lies between Sierra Madre and Cordillera Central.
The mountain range is widely believed to serve as a typhoon barrier for Luzon. However, it is only truly effective for Cagayan Valley where wind exposure and rainfall brought by the typhoon are both reduced. For the rest of Luzon along its western slopes such as in Metro Manila, rainfall is actually enhanced by orographic lifting.[3][4]
Elevation
The range's highest point is unclear, and several peaks are attributed as the highest. Mount Anacuao in
Peaks
List of highest peaks along the mountain range by elevation.
- Mount Bintuod - 6,339 ft (1,932 m)
- Mount Guiwan – 6,283 ft (1,915 m)
- Mount Mingan – 6,191 ft (1,887 m)
- Mount Anacuao – 6,014 ft (1,833 m)
- Mount Cetaceo – 5,981 ft (1,823 m)
- Mount Dos Cuernos – 5,856 ft (1,785 m)
- Salakot Peak – 5,699 ft (1,737 m)
- Mount Cresta – 5,062 ft (1,543 m)
- Mount San Cristobal – 4,882 ft (1,488 m)
- Mount Otunao – 4,803 ft (1,464 m)
- Mount Irid – 4,751 ft (1,448 m)
- Mount Batay – 4,596 ft (1,401 m)
- Mount Dos Hermanos – 4,557 ft (1,389 m)
- Mount Minalunad – 4,419 ft (1,347 m)
- Mount Oriod – 3,957 ft (1,206 m)
- Mount Palanan – 3,921 ft (1,195 m)
- Mount Cagua– 3,717 ft (1,133 m)
- Mount Etnora – 3,671 ft (1,119 m)
- Mount Lubog – 3,133 ft (955 m)
- Mount Sumag – 2,759 ft (841 m)
- Mount Batolusong 2,559 ft (780 m)
- Mount Mapalad 2,461 ft (750 m)
- Mount Daraitan – 2,425 ft (739 m)
- Mount Maynoba – 2,388 ft (728 m)
- Mount Masungki – 2,165 ft (660 m)
- Mount Binutasan – 1,844 ft (562 m)
- Mount Malauban – 1,024 ft (312 m)
Rivers
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Tinipak_or_Agos_River_in_Tanay%2C_Rizal.jpg/220px-Tinipak_or_Agos_River_in_Tanay%2C_Rizal.jpg)
List of major rivers along the mountain range by length.
- Cagayan River 518 km (322 miles)
- Pampanga River 270 km (167.7 miles)
- Ilagan River 189 km (117 miles)
- Angat River 153 km ( 95 miles )
- Agos River 93.8 km ( 58.2 miles )
- Pinacanauan River 82.6 km (51.3 mi)
- Umiray River 80.6 km (50 miles)
- Palanan River 79 km (49 miles)
- Marikina River 78 km (48.2 miles)
- Abuan River 70 km (43.4 miles)
- Aguang River 52 km (32.3 miles)
- Kaliwa River 31.3 km (19.4 miles)
Waterfalls
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Daranak_Falls%2C_Tanay%2C_Rizal_2.jpg/220px-Daranak_Falls%2C_Tanay%2C_Rizal_2.jpg)
- Daranak Falls, Tanay
- Dona R. Trinidad
- Dona R. Trinidad
- Dona R. Trinidad
- Dona R. Trinidad
- Dona R. Trinidad
- Dona R. Trinidad
- Dona R. Trinidad
- Dona R. Trinidad
Ecoregions
Two
National parks
Other protected areas
- Amro River Protected Landscape
- Angat Watershed Forest Reserve
- Casecnan Protected Landscape
- Dinadiawan River Protected Landscape
- La Mesa Watershed Reservation
- Magapit Protected Landscape
- Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park
- Pantabangan–Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve
- Peñablanca Protected Landscape and Seascape
- Quezon Protected Landscape
- Quirino Protected Landscape
- Simbahan-Talagas Protected Landscape
- Talaytay Protected Landscape
- Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape
Active volcanoes
- Cagua Volcano, an active volcano in Cagayan province that last erupted in 1907.
Indigenous and remote communities
Indigenous peoples
Sierra Madre is home to Indigenous Dumagat-Remontado communities[6] who have ancestral domain claims covering parts of the mountain range.[7][8]
Remote communities
Some coastal communities east of the Sierra Madre mountains, especially from
Biodiversity
The Sierra Madre mountain range is rich in genetic, species, and habitat diversity,[11] supplying food, water, and shelter to millions of people.[12] The mountain range hosts multiple watersheds and some of the Philippines' oldest forests.[13] These forests are some of the country's largest remaining forest blocks, including an old-growth dipterocarp forest, montane forests, and extensive lowland forests.[13]
Sierra Madre's forests and watersheds are home to some of the country's richest wildlife communities.[13] More than 291 species of birds and 25 endemic mammals may be found within the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park alone.[12]
Endemic flora and fauna
Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, the largest protected area in Sierra Madre range, is home to endemic dipterocarp trees belonging to the Hopea and Shorea genera, orchids such as Dendrobium aclinia, the leguminous tree, Milletia longipes and a member of the citrus family, Swinglea glutinosa as well.[14]
In the forest, in April 2010, the
Endemic mammals in Sierra Madre are the Sierra Madre shrew mouse and Sierra Madre forest mouse.[16]
Non-endemic flora and fauna
Human activities
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Oriod_burnt.jpg/220px-Oriod_burnt.jpg)
Forest-loss due to anthropogenic activities
The Sierra Madre mountain range
Mining
A gold and copper mine in the municipality of Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, has been operated by the OceanaGold Corporation based in Australia. The Didipio mine is a large-scale open-pit mine in a remote location, and local residents claim the company has severely damaged both the environment for miles around the site, and suppressed the long-standing farming economy.[18] Oceana continues to assert a right to operate despite expiration of its permit, and opposition by organized local residents, the Catholic Church, and worldwide environmental groups.[19]
Hydropower project
The Kaliwa dam project through a project called "New Centennial Water Source" in Sitio Cablao, Brgy. Pagsangahan,
Conservation efforts
The Mabuwaya Foundation is a non-governmental organization that aims to protect and conserve the Philippine crocodiles and other endemic threatened species. They mainly works in the towns of Divilican and San Mariano in Isabela.[24][25]
On June 19, 2012, in light of the onslaught of Tropical Storm Ondoy on September 26, 2009, Philippine president Benigno Aquino III signed Proclamation No. 413, declaring every September 26 as "Save Sierra Madre Day" in an effort to raise awareness on the benefits that the Sierra Madre brings and the risks and dangers of neglecting it. The proclamation also calls "all sectors of society and the government" to join hands in pursuing activities geared toward the conservation of the Sierra Madre, and to plan, prepare, and conduct activities in observance of Save Sierra Madre Day.[26]
Gallery
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The mountains in Gabaldon
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The mountains inPalanan
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Northern portion of the range
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Mountainous coast ofDingalan facing the Philippine Sea
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View from Mount Pamitinan summit in Rodriguez
See also
References
- ^ U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (1919). "United States Coast Pilot Philippine Islands Part 1", pg. 44. Government Printing Office, Washington.
- ^ Coursey, Oscar William (1903). History and Geography of the Philippine Islands. Educator School Supply Company.
- ^ Bordadora, Norman (November 12, 2006). "Sierra Madre blocks 'Queenie' punch". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
- .
- ISBN 978-0-516-24212-5.
- ^ Noval-Morales, Daisy Y. "The Remontados of the Sierra Madre Mountains". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
- ^ Chavez, Leilani (November 5, 2019). "A Philippine tribe that defeated a dam prepares to fight its reincarnation". Mongabay Environmental News. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
- ^ Valdez, Euden. "Antipolo Dumagats hope new 31,000-tree reforestation project takes root". Philstar. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
- ^ Domingo, Leander C. (October 2, 2019). "P1.6-B Isabela road to open soon". The Manila Times. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
- ^ Christian (June 13, 2011). "Palanan and Maconacon". Off the Beaten Track in the Philippines. Retrieved on 2014-09-28.
- ^ "Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park". DENR-B+WISER.
- ^ a b "Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, the country's biggest natural forest". The Haribon Foundation. August 31, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Forests of Hope site - Mount Irid-Angelo, Philippines". Bird Life International. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
- ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park and outlying areas inclusive of the buffer zone". UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
- PMID 20375042.
- S2CID 49347286.
- ^ a b c "Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park". forestry.denr.gov.ph. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ "Gold mining policy chaos in Philippines". Asia Times. March 1, 2020.
- ^ "Standoff over Philippines' Didipio mines escalates despite COVID-19 lockdown". Mongabay Environmental News. April 6, 2020.
- ^ "Kaliwa Dam will destroy Sierra Madre biodiversity – Haribon Foundation". The Haribon Foundation. November 20, 2018.
- ^ "Japanese firm renews proposal on Kaliwa Dam project". www.pna.gov.ph.
- ^ "The Philippines' China Dam Controversy". thediplomat.com.
- ^ "Kaliwa Dam construction eyed to start in June". CNN Philippines. February 18, 2022. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- ^ "Mabuwaya - Home". www.mabuwaya.org.
- ^ "Mabuwaya Foundation, Philippines".
- ^ Presidential Proclamation No. 413 (June 19, 2012), Declaring September 26 of every year as "Save Sierra Madre Day"
External links
Media related to Sierra Madre (Philippines) at Wikimedia Commons
- Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor