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.
Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Leyte Gulf, also known simply as the Leyte, is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao Island, separated from Leyte by the Surigao Strait. Dinagat Island partly encloses the gulf to the southeast, and the small Homonhon Island and Suluan Island, sit astride the eastern entrance to the Gulf. It is approximately 130 km (81 mi) north-south, and 60 km (37 mi) east-west.
Leyte, officially the Province of Leyte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region, occupying the northern three-quarters of Leyte Island. Its capital is the city of Tacloban, administered independently from the province. Leyte is situated west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran. To the west across the Camotes Sea is the province of Cebu.
Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate, is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate City. The province consists of three major islands: Masbate, Ticao and Burias.
Northern Samar, officially the Province of Northern Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catarman and is located at the northern portion of the island of Samar. Bordering the province to the south are the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar. To the northwest, across the San Bernardino Strait is Sorsogon; to the east is the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean and to the west is Samar 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.
Samar is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided into three provinces: Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. These three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of Leyte and Biliran, are part of the Eastern Visayas region.
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 Philippine archipelago is one of the world's great reservoirs of biodiversity and endemism. The archipelago includes over 7000 islands, and a total land area of 300,780 km².
Battle of the Philippines may refer to several wars, military campaigns, and major battles which have been fought in the Philippine Islands, including:
Southeast Asian coral reefs have the highest levels of biodiversity for the world's marine ecosystems. They serve many functions, such as forming the livelihood for subsistence fishermen and even function as jewelry and construction materials. Corals inhabit coastal waters off of every continent except Antarctica, with an abundance of reefs residing along Southeast Asian coastline in several countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Coral reefs are developed by the carbonate-based skeletons of a variety of animals and algae. Slowly and overtime, the reefs build up to the surface in oceans. Coral reefs are found in shallow, warm salt water. The sunlight filters through clear water and allows microscopic organisms to live and reproduce. Coral reefs are actually composed of tiny, fragile animals known as coral polyps. Coral reefs are significantly important because of the biodiversity. Although the number of fish are decreasing, the remaining coral reefs contain more unique sea creatures. The variety of species living on a coral reef is greater than anywhere else in the world. An estimation of 70-90% of fish caught are dependent on coral reefs in Southeast Asia and reefs support over 25% of all known marine species. However, those sensitive coral reefs are facing detrimental effects on them due to variety of factors: overfishing, sedimentation and pollution, bleaching, and even tourist-related damage.
Estancia, officially the Municipality of Estancia, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,200 people.
The Danajon Bank is the only double barrier reef in the Philippines, which is a very rare geological formation, which is located in the Camotes Sea. It comprises two sets of large coral reefs that formed offshore on a submarine ridge due to a combination of favorable tidal currents and coral growth in the area.
Eastern Visayas is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands, Samar, Leyte and Biliran. The region has six provinces, one independent city and one highly urbanized city namely, Biliran, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, Ormoc and Tacloban. The highly urbanized city of Tacloban is the sole regional center. These provinces and cities occupy the easternmost islands of the Visayas group of islands.
The Biri Larosa Protected Landscape and Seascape is a protected area located in Northern Samar, Philippines, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Catarman. It protects the Balicuatro Islands, composed of the island municipality of Biri and associated smaller islands, off the northwestern coast of Samar in the San Bernardino Strait. It also includes the coastal areas of the adjacent municipalities from which it derives the second half of its name – a combination of the first two letters of Lavezares, Rosario and San Jose.
The 2019 Eastern Samar Earthquake struck the islands of Visayas in the Philippines on April 23, 2019 at 1:37:51 PM(PHT).It had a moment magnitude of 6.5(Mww6.4 by USGS) and a local magnitude of 6.2 with a max intensity of VI based on the PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale(PEIS). The epicenter was in San Julian, Eastern Samar and the hypocenter was at a depth of 64 km(~39.76 mi). As of April 30, 2019 there were 172 aftershocks ranging from magnitudes of 1.6 to 4.6. The earthquake injured 48 people and damaged about 245 homes.
Typhoon Manny, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Naning, was a long-lived and deadly tropical cyclone that struck the Philippines during the 1993 Pacific typhoon season. It was the second typhoon to hit the Visayas, in the central Philippines, that year, following Kyle. The twenty-ninth named storm and fifteenth typhoon of the season, the system formed from a near-equatorial trough that also spawned Lola during the month in the east Caroline Islands on December 3. Moving northwestwards, it strengthened to a tropical storm on the next day before intensifying further to a severe tropical storm that night. The system attained typhoon status on December 8, while making an anticyclonic loop, nearly the same as Pamela, 11 years later. It then rapidly intensified while moving to the southwest, with the typhoon reaching its peak of 220 km/h (135 mph) and an unusually high barometric pressure of 960 mbar before crossing the central Philippines on December 10 and 11. It soon moved through the South China Sea as a tropical storm before weakening to a tropical depression as it encountered high wind shear. However, it restrengthened back to a tropical storm as it moved back again to a favorable environment before passing to the south of Vietnam as the system weakened back below gale-force winds. It then dissipated on December 16 as it passed through Thailand.
