X, A, 5 Pratt: Reconnaissance in Caramoan Peninsula 305 



that Caramoan Peninsula was formerly an island and had been 

 joined to the mainland of Luzon by deposits built up through 

 eruptions of Isarog Volcano. The correctness of this conclusion 

 is supported by the evidence of my reconnaissance work. Geo- 

 logically Caramoan Peninsula is related to Catanduanes Island 

 farther to the east rather than to the mainland, and the neck 

 which connects the mass of the peninsula with the mainland 

 consists of volcanic ejecta from Mount Isarog, younger in age 

 than the rocks of the peninsula proper. The area is elongated 

 in a west-northwest direction parallel to the main structural 

 lines and contains approximately 600 square kilometers. The 

 higher elevations, culminating in Saddle Peak (elevation 1,031 

 meters) in the Calinigan group of mountains, lie in the southern 

 part of the peninsula, but extend west through the central 

 portion. Mount Putianay, one of the prominent westernmost 

 peaks, displays a white scar near its summit, which makes it 

 conspicuous from the direction of the town of San Jose. The 

 eastern end of the peninsula is rugged, but the hills attain 

 only moderate elevations. The northern coast and the outlying 

 islands are low and are fringed at places with swamps. The 

 principal drainage systems discharge on the northern coast; no 

 large river has developed so as to control the topography, but 

 a series of short streams with tidal lower courses serve to 

 carry away the run-off from an exceedingly heavy rainfall. 



The peninsula is very sparsely inhabited, and a splendid 

 forest covers its western half. The town of Caramoan near the 

 eastern end of the peninsula was formerly larger than it is at 

 present, and the forest has been cleared from much of the sur- 

 rounding country. The forest yields a great deal of bejuco, a 

 rattan used for binding hemp; the bejuco industry together 

 with hemp planting and fishing are the principal industries. 

 Some of the small islands to the north of Caramoan have been 

 planted to coconuts, and the young groves are beginning to yield 

 returns. 



The southern coast of Caramoan Peninsula is regular and is 

 bounded by straight lines; within a short distance from the 

 shore the sea attains depths of 900 meters. The northern coast, 

 in contrast, is sinuous, with numerous indentations, and the 

 adjacent sea is shallow. Adams ^ has already pointed out the 

 existence of a submarine shelf in this vicinity dotted with emi- 

 nences which rise above sea level as small islands. 



' Op. cit., 456. 



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