Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Fantastic Philippines Facts
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines#GeographyGeography
The Philippines comprises of an archipelago of 7107 islands in the Western Pacific Ocean, with a total land area of approximately 300,000 km2 (116,000 squaremiles). It is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The busy port of Manila, on Luzon, is the capital of Philippines and the second largest city after Quezon City.
The Philippines borders the Philippine Sea on the east, the South China Sea on the west, and the Celebes Sea on the south.
Most of the mountainous islands were covered in tropical rainforest, and are volcanic in origin. The highest mountain is Mount Apo located in Mindanao measuring at 2,954m above sea level. There are many active volcanoes such as Mayon volcano, Mount Pinatubo, and Taal Volcano. The Philippines is also located within the typhoon belt of the Western Pacific, and approximately 19 typhoons strike per year.
Located on the northwestern fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippine Islands have experienced frequent seismic, and volcanic activities. Around 20 earthquakes are registered daily in the Philippines, though most are too weak to be felt. Also, the famous Mariana Trench, the deepest undersea trench in the world, is located on the Philippines plate, between Japan and Philippines.
Because most of the islands are volcanic in nature, the land is very fertile and is mineral-rich. The Philippines is able to harvest much geothermal energy. Endemic species include the tamaraw of Mindoro, and the tarsier of Bohol. The Philippines have a lack of predators, with the exception of snakes, such as pythons, and cobras, and birds of prey, such as the national bird, known as the Philippine eagle. Other native animals include the palm civet cat, the Mouse deer, the Visayan warty pig, and several species of bats. There are some 530 species of birds in the rainforests.Rainforests contain at least 8,500 species of flora, including several types of orchids, and rafflesa. The narra is considered as the most important type of hardwood. The Philippines' major crops include rice, corn, sugarcane, coconut, abaca, and tobacco. Rice is the most important source of food along with corn. The coconut, nango, watermelon, and other native fruits are an important source of Philippine income.
The Philippines’ territorial waters measure as much as 1.67 million km2. Of the 2,400 fish species found in the Philippines, 65 have good commercial value. Other marine products include corals, pearls, crabs, and seaweeds.
Brief Filipino culture
The Philippines was colonized by the Spanish, and thus is greatly influenced by Spanish/Mexican culture. Hispanic cultures are also present in their folk music, folk dance, language, food, art and religion.
The Philippines is a largely Roman Catholic society, 90% Christian, 5% Muslim, 5% practice other religions or have none at all.
Filipinos have unique folk dances like tinikling where assistants take two long bamboo sticks rapidly and in rhythm, clap sticks for dancers to artistically and daringly try to avoid getting their feet caught between them. Also in the southern part of the Philippines, there is another dance called singkil using long bamboo poles found in tinikling; however, it is primarily a dance showing off lavish Muslim
royalty. In this dance, there are four bamboo sticks arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern in which the dancers exploit every position of these clashing sticks.
Dancers can be found trying to avoid all 4 bamboo sticks all together in the middle. They can also try to dance an entire rotation around the middle avoiding all sticks. Usually these stick dances performed in teamwork fashion and not solo. The Singkil dance is identifiable with the use of umbrellas and silk clothing.
Some musical instruments found in Filipino culture: kulintang: a racked gong chime instrument played in the Southern Philippines. Some popular lyrical songs are: Harana and Kundiman: a lyrical song style made popular in the Philippine Islands, dating back to the Spanish period. Composed in the Mexican-Spanish tradition, the lyrics usually depict a romantic theme.
People and Places of Interest
The Philippines was colonized by the Spanish, and thus is greatly influenced by Spanish/Mexican culture. Hispanic cultures are also present in their folk music, folk dance, language, food, art and religion.
The Philippines is a largely Roman Catholic society, 90% Christian, 5% Muslim, 5% practice other religions or have none at all.
Filipinos have unique folk dances like tinikling where assistants take two long bamboo sticks rapidly and in rhythm, clap sticks for dancers to artistically and daringly try to avoid getting their feet caught between them. Also in the southern part of the Philippines, there is another dance called singkil using long bamboo poles found in tinikling; however, it is primarily a dance showing off lavish Muslim
royalty. In this dance, there are four bamboo sticks arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern in which the dancers exploit every position of these clashing sticks.
Dancers can be found trying to avoid all 4 bamboo sticks all together in the middle. They can also try to dance an entire rotation around the middle avoiding all sticks. Usually these stick dances performed in teamwork fashion and not solo. The Singkil dance is identifiable with the use of umbrellas and silk clothing.
Some musical instruments found in Filipino culture: kulintang: a racked gong chime instrument played in the Southern Philippines. Some popular lyrical songs are: Harana and Kundiman: a lyrical song style made popular in the Philippine Islands, dating back to the Spanish period. Composed in the Mexican-Spanish tradition, the lyrics usually depict a romantic theme.
People and Places of Interest
People
About 30,000 years ago, the Negritos, who became the ancestors of the Aeta, Agta, Ayta, Ati, Dumagat and other tribes of the Philippines forms about .003% of the total Philippine population.About 2000 to 6000 years ago, the Austronesian ethnic group originated from the Yunnan Plateau in Taiwan and settled in what is now the Philippines by sailing, using boats or by traveling in land bridges. Their descendance would migrated to the Malay Archipelago, the Pacific Islands, and Madagascar.The indigenous people of the Philippines were also in contact with other Asian people. Various ethnic groups established several communities formed by the assimilation of various indigenous Philippine kingdoms.The current Filipino PeopleThe Filipino is basically of Malay stock with a sprinkling of Chinese, American, Spanish, and Arab blood. The Philippines has a population of 76.5 million as of May 2000, and it is hard to distinguish accurately the lines between stocks. From a long history of Western colonial rule, interspersed with the visits of merchants and traders, evolved a people of a unique blend of east and west, both in appearance and culture.The Filipino character is actually a little bit of all the cultures put together. The bayanihan or spirit of kinship and camaraderie that Filipinos are famous for is said to be taken from Malay forefathers. The close family relations are said to have been inherited from the Chinese. The piousness comes from the Spaniards who introduced Christianity in the 16th century. Hospitality is a common denominator in the Filipino character and this is what distinguishes the Filipino. Filipinos are probably one of the few, if not the only, English-proficient Oriental people today. Pilipino is the official national language, with English considered as the country's unofficial one.
About 30,000 years ago, the Negritos, who became the ancestors of the Aeta, Agta, Ayta, Ati, Dumagat and other tribes of the Philippines forms about .003% of the total Philippine population.About 2000 to 6000 years ago, the Austronesian ethnic group originated from the Yunnan Plateau in Taiwan and settled in what is now the Philippines by sailing, using boats or by traveling in land bridges. Their descendance would migrated to the Malay Archipelago, the Pacific Islands, and Madagascar.The indigenous people of the Philippines were also in contact with other Asian people. Various ethnic groups established several communities formed by the assimilation of various indigenous Philippine kingdoms.The current Filipino PeopleThe Filipino is basically of Malay stock with a sprinkling of Chinese, American, Spanish, and Arab blood. The Philippines has a population of 76.5 million as of May 2000, and it is hard to distinguish accurately the lines between stocks. From a long history of Western colonial rule, interspersed with the visits of merchants and traders, evolved a people of a unique blend of east and west, both in appearance and culture.The Filipino character is actually a little bit of all the cultures put together. The bayanihan or spirit of kinship and camaraderie that Filipinos are famous for is said to be taken from Malay forefathers. The close family relations are said to have been inherited from the Chinese. The piousness comes from the Spaniards who introduced Christianity in the 16th century. Hospitality is a common denominator in the Filipino character and this is what distinguishes the Filipino. Filipinos are probably one of the few, if not the only, English-proficient Oriental people today. Pilipino is the official national language, with English considered as the country's unofficial one.
Language
According to Ethnologue, there are about 180 languages spoken in the Philippine Islands.Filipino and English are the official languages. Other major languages of the Philippines include Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Kapampangan, Bikol, Pangasinan, Tausug, Maguindanao, Maranao, Kinaray-a, Chavacano and Spanish.
Places of interest
Mt Pinatubo is part of a chain of volcanoes which lie along the western edge of the island of Luzon. They are subduction volcanoes, formed by the Philippine Plate sliding under the Eurasian Plate along the Manila Trench to the west. Mount Pinatubo lies on a destructive plate boundary.The volcano is located 89 km (55 miles) northwest of Manila, 14 km (9 miles) west of the former Clark Air Base, and 37 km (23 mi) north of the former U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay. Clark Air Base's residential areas and petroleum storage facilities were in much closer proximity to the volcano than the airfield complex and neighboring Angeles City.Several important river systems have their sources on Pinatubo, with the major rivers being the Bucao, Santo Tomas, Maloma, Tanguay and Kileng rivers. Before the eruption, these river systems were important ecosystems, but the eruption filled many valleys with deep pyroclastic deposits. Since 1991, the rivers have been clogged with sediment, and the valleys have seen frequent lahars (volcanic mudflow). Studies show that the river systems will take many years yet to recover from the 1991 eruption.About 500,000 people continue to live within 40 km of the mountain, with population centres including the 150,000 in Angeles City, and 20,000 at Clark Freeport Zone.
The province of Palawan is an island in the South China Sea. Palawan has natural gas fields on the northeastern part of the island but the beautiful beaches around the island are still maintained.
According to Ethnologue, there are about 180 languages spoken in the Philippine Islands.Filipino and English are the official languages. Other major languages of the Philippines include Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Kapampangan, Bikol, Pangasinan, Tausug, Maguindanao, Maranao, Kinaray-a, Chavacano and Spanish.
Places of interest
Mt Pinatubo is part of a chain of volcanoes which lie along the western edge of the island of Luzon. They are subduction volcanoes, formed by the Philippine Plate sliding under the Eurasian Plate along the Manila Trench to the west. Mount Pinatubo lies on a destructive plate boundary.The volcano is located 89 km (55 miles) northwest of Manila, 14 km (9 miles) west of the former Clark Air Base, and 37 km (23 mi) north of the former U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay. Clark Air Base's residential areas and petroleum storage facilities were in much closer proximity to the volcano than the airfield complex and neighboring Angeles City.Several important river systems have their sources on Pinatubo, with the major rivers being the Bucao, Santo Tomas, Maloma, Tanguay and Kileng rivers. Before the eruption, these river systems were important ecosystems, but the eruption filled many valleys with deep pyroclastic deposits. Since 1991, the rivers have been clogged with sediment, and the valleys have seen frequent lahars (volcanic mudflow). Studies show that the river systems will take many years yet to recover from the 1991 eruption.About 500,000 people continue to live within 40 km of the mountain, with population centres including the 150,000 in Angeles City, and 20,000 at Clark Freeport Zone.
The province of Palawan is an island in the South China Sea. Palawan has natural gas fields on the northeastern part of the island but the beautiful beaches around the island are still maintained.