400 FERGUSON. 



36' nortli. aud longitudes 123' 09' east and 124° 05' east, and has an 

 area of approximately 4,000 square kilometers. It owes its unique, two- 

 pronged shape to the junctiou of the two prevailing anticlinical trends 

 of the Visayan Islands and central Luzon. To the inner series, as de- 

 scribed by Becker,'- belongs the western arm of ilasbate, which is con- 

 tinued in eastern Panay, Guimaras, and the L'agayanes, and is parallel 

 to the curves formed by Palawan and the Culion group to tlie west, and 

 the Xegros, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Sulu line to the east. The trend 

 of the larger arm of the island is continued through Leyte and eastern 

 Mindanao and is parallel to the outer line formed by Samar and southern 

 Luzon. 



Masbate is mountainous and the greater part of the interior is un- 

 explored. A fairly continuous range of hills rises steeply from a narrow- 

 plain on tlie western jjrong. The maximum elevation of this range is 

 about 600 meters at Mount Gantal. The larger arm of the island is not 

 a continuous range but is broken by two transverse valleys ; one between 

 Milagros and Port Palanog. and the other southerly from Uson. Except 

 for rhese two troughs, the country is extremely rugged and mountainous. 

 The highest mountain of the island. Mount Simbahan, lies 11 kilometers 

 south of the village of Baleno and 18 kilometers southeast of Aroroy, 

 and has an elevation of 660 meters. Two liigh peaks, Capuluhan 

 and Bagulipat, occur in the moimtainous countr\- southeast of the 

 Milagros-Masbate trough. A peculiar feature of the topography of this 

 part of the island is the course of the Malbug Eiver, which rises near 

 the northeastern coast and flows southeast parallel to the coast, until 

 near TTson it makes a sharp rum at right angles to its former direction 

 and flows southwest into the Gulf of Asid. The largest rivers of the 

 island, the Asid and Malbug, drain into the shallow Gulf of Asid. The 

 crests of the mountain ranges lie near the northern shore, there being 

 a considerable stretch of plain and piedmont country on the southwestern 

 side of the main prong of the island. Similarly, tlie greatest depths 

 near the shore are to be found along the northern and northeastern coast, 

 especially between Xaro Bay and Point Bugui. where tliere is a depth of 

 Oil metei-s at a point less than 3 kilometers north of Bagubau Point, 

 while off the southern coast shoal water extends for a great distance. 

 On tlie accompanying map the submarine contours of 50. 100. and 200 

 meters depth are shown. Tlie excellent harbors of Port Barrera (Aro- 

 roy), Port Palanog (Masbate). Xaro Bay (Dimas Alang), and Port 

 Kataingan are situated on the northern and eastern coasts. On the west 

 coast the only harbor is Port Mandaon. The Gulf of Asid, on the south 

 coast, is so shallow that only small boats can call at Milagros. 



Geology. — The two cordillera ranges are in part composed of older 



"^Report on the Geology of the Philippine Islands, 21st Ann. Rep., U. S. Geol. 

 .Vurr. (19011, .546. 



