Owing to its numerous islands, the Philippines has an irregular coastline stretching 334,539 kilometers (207,873 miles). The islands' rugged coastlines provide several bays and inlets listed below.
Owing to its numerous islands, the Philippines has an irregular coastline stretching 334,539 kilometers (207,873 miles). The islands' rugged coastlines provide several bays and inlets listed below.
Geography of the Philippines | ||
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The Philippines is an archipelago that comprises 7,641 islands with a total land area of 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi). It is the world's fifth largest island country. The eleven largest islands contain 95% of the total land area. The largest of these islands is Luzon at about 105,000 square kilometers (40,541 sq mi). The next largest island is Mindanao at about 95,000 square kilometers (36,680 sq mi). The archipelago is around 800 kilometers (500 mi) from the Asian mainland and is located between Taiwan and Borneo.
The San Juan Islands is an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of San Juan County.
The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge. The entire shoreline and adjacent waters throughout the strait are managed by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean.
The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada, and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington, United States. It is approximately 240 kilometres (150 mi) long and varies in width from 20 to 58 kilometres. Along with the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, it is a constituent part of the Salish Sea.
The Visayan Sea is a sea in the Philippines surrounded by the islands of the Visayas. It is bounded by the islands Masbate to the north, Panay to the west, Leyte to the east, and Cebu and Negros to the south.
San Juanico Strait is a narrow strait in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. It separates the islands of Samar and Leyte and connects Carigara Bay with the San Pedro Bay. It is about 38 kilometres (24 mi) long. At its narrowest point, the strait is only 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) wide.
The San Bernardino Strait is a strait in the Philippines, connecting the Samar Sea with the Philippine Sea. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.
The Gulf of Mannar is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean with an average depth of 5.8 m (19 ft). It lies between the southeastern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka, in the Coromandel Coast region. The chain of low islands and reefs known as Ram Sethu, which includes Mannar Island, separates the Gulf of Mannar from Palk Bay, which lies to the north between India and Sri Lanka. The estuaries of Thamirabarani River and Vaippar River of South India and the Malvathu Oya of Sri Lanka drain into the Gulf. The dugong is found here.
The Camotes Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Central Visayan and the Eastern Visayan regions. It separates Cebu from Leyte hence is bordered by Cebu to the west, Leyte to the east and north, and Bohol to the south. At its center are the Camotes Islands, but it also contains Mactan Island, Olango Island, Lapinig Island, and various other small islets.
San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east–west and 20 km north–south. The bay is bounded by two islands; on the north and east by Samar, and on the east by Leyte. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The largest city on the bay is Tacloban City, the capital of Leyte province.
The Red Sea Riviera, Egypt's eastern coastline along the Red Sea, consists of resort cities on the western shore of the Gulf of Aqaba and along the eastern coast of mainland Egypt, south of the Gulf of Suez. The combination of a favorable climate, warm sea, thousands of kilometers of shoreline, and abundant natural and archaeological points of interest makes this stretch of Egypt's coastline a popular national and international tourist destination. There are numerous National Parks along the Red Sea Riviera, both underwater and on land. Desert and marine life are protected by several laws, and visitors may be subject to heavy fines for not abiding.
The Haro Strait is one of the main channels connecting the Strait of Georgia to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, separating Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada from the San Juan Islands of Washington state in the United States.
The Backstairs Passage is a strait in South Australia lying between Fleurieu Peninsula on the Australian mainland and Dudley Peninsula on the eastern end of Kangaroo Island. The western edge of the passage is a line from Cape Jervis on Fleurieu Peninsula to Kangaroo Head on Kangaroo Island. The Pages, a group of islets, lie in the eastern entrance to the strait. About 14 km wide at its narrowest, it was formed by the rising sea around 13,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene era, when it submerged the land connecting what is now Kangaroo Island with the Fleurieu Peninsula. Backstairs Passage was named by Matthew Flinders whilst he and his crew on HMS Investigator were exploring and mapping the coastline of South Australia in 1802.
The Bohai Sea is a marginal sea approximately 77,000 km2 (30,000 sq mi) in area on the east coast of Mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects to the east via the Bohai Strait. It has a mean depth of approximately 18 meters (59 ft), with a maximum depth of about 80 meters (260 ft) located in the northern part of the Bohai Strait.
Guimaras Strait is a strait in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, connecting the Visayan Sea with Panay Gulf and the Sulu Sea beyond. To the north and west are Panay and Guimaras Islands, while Negros Island is to the south and east. Bacolod City is a major seaport on the strait, which also provides access to the Port of Iloilo City via the Iloilo Strait.