| Surigao Strait | |
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 The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley in the Surigao Strait | |
  Surigao Strait | |
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| Location | Eastern Visayas, Caraga |
| Coordinates | 10°10′N125°23′E / 10.167°N 125.383°E |
| Type | Strait |
| Max. length | 75 km (47 mi) |
| Max. width | 25 km (16 mi) |
Surigao Strait (Filipino: Kipot ng Surigaw) is a strait in the southern Philippines, between the Bohol Sea and Leyte Gulf of the Philippine Sea.
It is located between the regions of Visayas and Mindanao. It lies between northern Mindanao Island and Panaon Island, and between the Dinagat Islands and Leyte island.
The strait is deep but has a strong current, up to 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). The northern entrance of the Surigao Strait is marked by a navigation light on Suluan Island. [1]
The Hibuson island lies at the north end of the Surigao Strait.
It is regularly crossed by numerous ferries that transport goods and people between Visayas and Mindanao. The ferries stop at Liloan, Southern Leyte and Surigao City in Surigao del Norte. [2]
According to legend, the strait was named after Solibao, a Negrito chieftain, who lived at the outlet of the Surigao River. Migrating Visayan fishermen gradually formed a settlement there, and when Spanish explorers visited the place, they probably misheard the name as Surigao instead of Solibao. [3] A different theory explains that Surigao may be derived from the Spanish word surgir, meaning "swift water" or "current". [4]
In March 1521 during the first circumnavigation of the Earth, Ferdinand Magellan and his crew were the first Europeans to sail through the strait.
The Battle of Surigao Strait took place here on October 25, 1944. The American battleships of the U.S. 7th Fleet Support Force commanded by Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf were able to "cross the T" against Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura's Southern Force; nearly all of which, including the battleships Yamashiro and Fusō, were sunk. All but one of these American battleships had been in Pearl Harbor during the Japanese sneak attack and either damaged or sunk and subsequently refloated and repaired. [5]
Mindanao is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of the same name that also includes its adjacent islands, notably the Sulu Archipelago. According to the 2020 census, Mindanao had a population of 26,252,442, while the entire island group had an estimated population of 27,021,036.
The Philippines is an archipelago that comprises 7,641 islands, and 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 Battle of Leyte Gulf 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved.
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, 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, as well as the regional center of Eastern Visayas. Leyte is thus north of Southern Leyte, south of Biliran, and west of Samar Island. To the west across the Camotes Sea is the province of Cebu.
Southern Leyte, officially the Province of Southern Leyte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Maasin. Southern Leyte comprised the third congressional district Leyte until it was made into an independent province in 1959. Southern Leyte includes Limasawa, an island to the south where the first Roman Catholic Mass in Philippine soil is believed to have taken place and thus considered to be the birthplace of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines.
The Bohol Sea, also called the Mindanao Sea, is a sea located between the Visayas and Mindanao islands in the Philippines. It lies south of Bohol and Leyte and north of Mindanao. Siquijor and Camiguin are its two major islands.
Surigao del Norte, officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. The province was formerly under the jurisdiction of Region 10 until 1995. Its capital is Surigao City, the most populous in the province. The province comprises two major islands—Siargao and Bucas Grande—in the Philippine Sea, plus a small area at the northeastern tip of mainland Mindanao and other surrounding minor islands and islets. This mainland portion borders Agusan del Norte – between the Municipality of Alegria in Surigao del Norte and the Municipality of Kitcharao in Agusan del Norte; and the province of Surigao del Sur, to the south.
Caraga, officially the Caraga Administrative Region and designated as Region XIII, is an administrative region in the Philippines occupying the northeastern section of Mindanao. The region was created through Republic Act No. 7901 on February 23, 1995. The region comprises five provinces: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur; six cities: Bayugan, Bislig, Butuan, Cabadbaran, Surigao and Tandag; 67 municipalities and 1,311 barangays. Butuan, the most urbanized city in Caraga, serves as the regional administrative center.
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 from Samar of Visayas.
Battle of the Philippines may refer to several wars, military campaigns, and major battles which have been fought in the Philippine Islands, including:
Surigao City, officially the City of Surigao, is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Surigao del Norte, Caraga Region, on the north-eastern island of Mindanao, Philippines. It is the most populous in the province with a population of 171,107 people according to 2020 census.
Dinagat Islands, officially the Province of Dinagat Islands, is an island province in the Caraga region of the Philippines, located on the south side of Leyte Gulf. The island of Leyte is to its west, across Surigao Strait, and mainland Mindanao is to its south. Its main island, Dinagat, is about 60 kilometres (37 mi) from north to south. San Jose serves as its provincial capital while Basilisa is the most populous town in the province.
Theodore Edson Chandler was a rear admiral of the United States Navy during World War II, who commanded battleship and cruiser divisions in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. He was killed in action when a Japanese kamikaze aircraft struck his flagship Louisville on January 6, 1945, in Lingayen Gulf, Philippine Islands. He died the next day, January 7, 1945, from severely scorched lungs. He was the last of five US Navy admirals killed in battle during WWII, including: Isaac C. Kidd ; Norman Scott and Daniel J. Callaghan ; and Henry M. Mullinnix.
The Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway, is a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in the Philippines, serving as the country's principal transport backbone. Measuring 3,379.73 kilometers (2,100.07 mi) long excluding sea routes not counted by highway milestones, it is the longest road in the Philippines that forms the country's north–south backbone component of National Route 1 (N1) of the Philippine highway network. The entire highway is designated as Asian Highway 26 (AH26) of the Asian Highway Network.
The Philippine Nautical Highway System, also the Road Roll-on/Roll-off Terminal System (RRTS) or simply the RoRo System, is an integrated network of highway and vehicular ferry routes which forms the backbone of a nationwide vehicle transport system in the Philippines. It is a system of roads and ports developed by the Philippine government to connect the major islands of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. The 919-kilometer (571 mi) nautical highway was opened to the public on April 12, 2003 as the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH).
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Philippines:
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: Biliran, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, one independent city, Ormoc, and one highly urbanized city, 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, hence the region's name. Some historians believe that the oldest ancient kingdom in the Philippines is found in this region, the Lakanate of Lawan, which plays a significant role in the Polynesian and Austronesian intermigration.
Ingemar Macarine is a Filipino long-distance swimmer, marathoner and environmental lawyer, currently serving as election officer of Tubigon town in Bohol, a province of the Philippines. Macarine pioneered the open water marathon swimming in the Philippines by crossing several channels in the country.
National Route 1 (N1) is a primary national route that forms part of the Philippine highway network, running from Luzon to Mindanao. Except for a 19-kilometer (12 mi) gap in Metro Manila and ferry connections, the highway is generally continuous. Most sections of N1 forms the Pan-Philippine Highway except for sections bypassed by expressways.
Media related to Surigao Strait at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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