Aurora, officially the Province of Aurora, is a province in the Philippines located in the eastern part of Central Luzon region, facing the Philippine Sea. Its capital is Baler and borders, clockwise from the south, the provinces of Quezon, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Isabela.
Callao Cave is one of 300 limestone caves located in the Barangays of Magdalo and Quibal in the municipality of Peñablanca, about 24 km (15 mi) northeast of Tuguegarao City, the capital of Cagayan province within the Peñablanca Protected Landscape and Seascape in the western foothills of the Northern Sierra Madre Mountains on Luzon island in the Philippines. The town Peñablanca's name refers to the predominance of white limestone rock formations in the area. First excavated in 1980 by Maharlika Cuevas, the seven-chamber show cave is the best known natural tourist attraction of the Cagayan province and in February 2020 has officially been recognized as an important cultural property of the Philippines.
The Peñablanca Protected Landscape and Seascape is a protected area and national park in Peñablanca, Cagayan. It is on the border with Isabela province, contiguous with the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park. The protected area, best known as the location of Callao Cave, covers the largest block of forest under conservation in the province. It covers 118,781.582 hectares of the northern Sierra Madre mountain range and its adjacent Pacific coast.
The Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park is the largest protected area of the Philippines covering the northern range of the Sierra Madre mountains of eastern Luzon. The park is located in the eastern part of the province of Isabela in Cagayan Valley containing a total of 359,486 hectares. It was first declared a wilderness reserve encompassing an area within a 45 kilometres (28 mi) radius of Palanan Point known as the Palanan Wilderness Area through Letter of Instructions No. 917-A signed by President Ferdinand Marcos on September 7, 1979. On March 10, 1997, the area was converted into a natural park with the signing of Proclamation No. 978 by President Fidel Ramos.
The Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape is a protected area containing natural hot springs in the Ilocos Region of the Philippines. It is one of 34 protected landscapes in the Philippines located in the municipality of Mangatarem, Pangasinan in the west-central area of the island of Luzon.
The Roosevelt Protected Landscape, also known as Roosevelt Park, is a protected area in the Central Luzon region in the Philippines. It occupies an area of 786.04 hectares of grasslands and old-growth forest in northern Bataan province near Olongapo and the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The park was established as Roosevelt National Park covering an area of 1,485 hectares on 30 March 1933 through Proclamation No. 567 signed by Governor-General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. In 1965, the national park was reduced to 1,334 hectares. On 23 April 2000, the park was reclassified as a protected landscape area and was further reduced to its present area of 786.04 hectares.
The Casecnan Protected Landscape is a protected area in the Casecnan River watershed of eastern Luzon in the Philippines. It has a total area of 88,846.80 hectares straddling the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Aurora. The 57,930-hectare (143,100-acre) Casecnan River Watershed Forest Reserve was established in August 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No. 136 issued by President Corazon Aquino. In April 2000, the forest reserve was enlarged to 88,846.80 hectares and was reclassified as a protected landscape area through Proclamation No. 289. It is considered one of the last remaining substantial water sources for the region of Central Luzon.
The Bessang Pass Natural Monument is a protected area and memorial that commemorates the victory on June 14, 1945, by Filipino soldiers serving the U.S. Army Forces in the Philippines Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL) over the Imperial Japanese Army in the Battle of Bessang Pass which led to Japan's eventual surrender and end to World War II in the Philippines. It covers an area of 693.32 hectares and a buffer zone of 427.79 hectares in the municipality of Cervantes in Ilocos Sur. The mountain pass was initially a component of the Tirad Pass National Park, declared in 1938 through Proclamation No. 294 by then President Manuel Luis Quezon. On August 10, 1954, it was established as the Bessang Pass National Shrine with an area of 304 hectares by virtue of Proclamation No. 55 signed by President Ramon Magsaysay. The national shrine was finally declared and reclassified as a natural monument under the National Integrated Protected Areas System in April 2000 through Proclamation No. 284 by President Joseph Estrada.
The Buenavista Protected Landscape is a conservation area and an archaeological site located on Bondoc Peninsula in the southern Luzon province of Quezon in the Philippines. It conserves an important watershed area composed of secondary-growth forest, grassland and coconut land in the rural village of Buenavista within the coastal municipality of Mulanay. The area was primarily set aside for watershed protection and timber production in 1937 covering approximately 356 hectares. In 2000, it was reestablished as a protected landscape area under the National Integrated Protected Areas System. The area is known as the site of an ancient village containing unique limestone graves discovered in 2011. The protected area, including the limestone tombs of Kamhantik were recommended by various scholars to be included in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, yet no government or private entities have yet to file a tentative nomination to the UNESCO Secretariat.
The La Mesa Watershed Reservation is a protected area that preserves the only major watershed in Metro Manila, Philippines. Also known as the Novaliches Watershed, it contains the last remaining rainforest of its size in Metro Manila surrounding the La Mesa Dam and Reservoir, the primary source of potable drinking water for 12 million residents in the Manila metropolitan area. The area is under the joint administration, supervision and control of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System. It was established in 2007 through Proclamation No. 1336 issued by President Gloria Arroyo.
The Amro River Protected Landscape is a protected landscape area located in the province of Aurora in eastern Central Luzon in the Philippines. It preserves the primary water source for agricultural, power generation and domestic consumption of the remote northern Auroran communities on the Pacific coast. The area was first established in 1990 as the Amro River Watershed Forest Reserve to protect, maintain and improve the water yield of the Amro River as declared through Proclamation No. 633 by President Corazón Aquino. In 2000, the forest reserve was reclassified as a protected landscape under the National Integrated Protected Areas System with the enactment of Proclamation No. 274 by President Joseph Estrada. It is one of five declared protected areas of the Philippines in Aurora.
The Dinadiawan River Protected Landscape is a protected area covering the stretch of the Dinadiawan River from its headwaters in the Sierra Madre mountain range to its mouth on the Philippine Sea coast of the village of Dinadiawan in Aurora province, Philippines. The park covers an area of 3,371.332 hectares and includes its surrounding forested mountains, waterfalls and springs in Dipaculao municipality. It is composed of 2,645 hectares of forested area, 323 hectares of grassland, 151 hectares of forested shrubland, 144 hectares of cultivated area, and 108 hectares of the Dinadiawan River. Its forest cover consists primarily of dipterocarp trees like tanguile, mayapis, white lauan, red lauan and bagtikan. It serves as a habitat of wild fauna such as the Philippine deer, Philippine long-tailed macaque, Philippine warty pig, spotted wood kingfisher and pygmy swiftlet.
The Simbahan–Talagas Protected Landscape is a protected area in northern Aurora, Philippines that preserves a major watershed in the Sierra Madre mountain range of Central Luzon. It contains the headwaters of the Simbahan and Talagas rivers, including the Sangay River and Umihiem Creek in Dinalungan municipality which empty into the Casiguran Sound. A large portion of the park is under forest cover, while the remaining areas are cultivated land, shrubland, grassland, built-up area and river-wash area. Some of the park's fauna include the Philippine deer, Philippine long-tailed macaque, and an abundant species of avifauna. Its location in north central Sierra Madre is covered by dipterocarp forest, composed of Shorea almon, Shorea polysperma (tanguile), Shorea squamata (mayapis), Shorea contorta, Shorea negrosensis, and Parashorea malaanonan (bagtikan).
The Talaytay Protected Landscape is a protected area in northern Aurora, Philippines that preserves the Talaytay River watershed in the Sierra Madre mountain range of Central Luzon. It encompasses an area of 3,526.29 hectares stretching from the rugged interior containing the headwaters of the Talaytay River to its mouth at the lowland area of Dinalungan municipality. The park is known to harbor several important flora of the dipterocarp variety, including Dipterocarpus grandiflorus (apitong), Shorea polysperma (tanguile), Shorea squamata (mayapis), Shorea contorta, Shorea negrosensis, Parashorea malaanonan (bagtikan), and Shorea philippinensis (mangasinoro). It is home to a number of wildlife such as the Philippine deer, Philippine long-tailed macaque and some avifauna species.
The Quezon Protected Landscape is a protected area in the Republic of the Philippines, spanning the municipalities of Pagbilao, Padre Burgos and Atimonan in Quezon province. The park is situated north of the narrowest section of Luzon in Quezon province, located about 164 km (102 mi) southeast of Metro Manila.
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.
The Quirino Protected Landscape is a protected area in the Philippine island of Luzon that covers a large portion of the province of Quirino. It was established in 2004 to preserve the watershed area containing the headwaters of the Cagayan River, also known as the Rio Grande de Cagayan, which supports major irrigation systems in the entire Cagayan Valley region. From an initial area of 206,875.41 hectares, the protected area now forms a total aggregate area of 175,943.62 hectares divided into three parcels after a 2005 amendment opened up a few areas to mining. It is a key biodiversity area of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor.
Mounts Banahaw–San Cristobal Protected Landscape is a protected landscape park in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines, 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of Manila. It is the second largest protected area in Calabarzon, after the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape, with an area of 10,900.59 hectares. The park is located at the border of Laguna and Quezon provinces and includes the features it is named after: Mount Banahaw and, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to its west, Mount San Cristobal.
The Angat Watershed Forest Reserve is a conservation area that protects the drainage basin in the southern Sierra Madre range north of Metro Manila in the Philippines where surface water empties into the Angat River and its distributaries. It is spread over an area of 62,309 hectares in the eastern portion of Bulacan and northern Rizal province at an altitude of between 490 and 1,206 metres. The conservation area also extends to the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Quezon and is centered on an artificial lake created by the Angat Dam which, together with the Ipo Dam located 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) downstream, supply 97% of the water requirement of Metro Manila via an aqueduct system to the La Mesa Dam and Reservoir and the Balara Filtration Plant in Quezon City. The Angat Dam and Reservoir is also a major source of hydroelectricity for Metro Manila and surrounding provinces, contributing some 200 megawatts to the Luzon grid. The watershed is a popular birdwatching site and is a biodiversity hotspot containing most of the remaining closed-canopy forests in Central Luzon.
The Pantabangan–Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve is a conservation area located in the upper reaches of the Pampanga River in Nueva Ecija, Philippines, and borders the Sierra Madre and Caraballo Mountains in Aurora and Nueva Vizcaya. It encompasses 84,500 hectares of the drainage basin surrounding the Pantabangan Lake, an impoundment of the Pampanga River by the Pantabangan Dam. The multi-purpose dam is situated at the confluence of Pampanga River's two headwaters, namely the Pantabangan and Carranglan Rivers in the municipality of Pantabangan. It stretches above the dam site for 21 kilometres (13 mi) to where Carranglan River originates in the Caraballo on the north, and for 18 kilometres (11 mi) to where Pantabangan River originates in the Sierra Madre on the east. It is considered a critical watershed for the agricultural economy and hydroelectric power generation in the region of Central Luzon.
