94 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 



and an average breadth of 20 miles, although at Ulugan 

 Bay it is only 3 miles across. Its area is probably 

 about 5000 square miles, and it is thus the third in size 

 of the Philippine Islands. Its northern extremity is 

 much broken, and studded with small islands, so as to 

 form several good harbours, while its whole north- 

 western coast is bordered by an extensive submarine 

 bank, with numerous reefs and islets. Considering its 

 breadth the island is very high throughout its whole 

 extent, many of the peaks reaching 5000 feet, and one 

 6843 feet. Towards the north the coast is formed by 

 vertical limestone cliffs. Although the island is not 

 known to have any volcanoes, it is possible that they 

 may exist, as there are two active craters on the island 

 of Dumaran at its northern end. 



Politically Palawan is one of the Philippine Archi- 

 pelago, but it cannot be considered so geographically. 

 The soundings show that, together with the Calamianes 

 and Cuyos islands, it is connected with Borneo by a bank 

 which is hardly submerged 50 fathoms. North of the 

 Calamianes, in the IMindoro Strait, the great depths of 

 700 to 800 fathoms are reached. Not one of the few 

 mammals peculiar to the Philippines is known to inhabit 

 Palawan, while, on the other hand, the genera Hystrix, 

 Manis, and Mydaus, abundantly found in Borneo, occur 

 there, but in no other island of the Philippines. The 

 avifauna shows similar evidence of a preponderating 

 western element, and of this element being the original,^ 

 and we must therefore conclude that the island forms an 

 integral portion of the Bornean group rather than of 

 the Philippines. 



The greater part of Palawan is unexplored, owing 

 in part to the untrustworthy character of the natives. 

 1 See Mr. A. H. Everett in Proc. Zoolog. Soc. 1889, p. 220. 



