336 



The Philippine Journal of Science 

 GEOGRAPHY 



1915 



SITUATION 



The reservation which was made to cover the Surigao iron 

 ores includes all territory lying east of a north-south line through 

 the town of Gigaquit and north of an east-west line through the 

 town of Cantilan. These lines, together with the sea coast, 

 define a triangular area in the eastern part of northern Surigao. 

 Gigaquit, the northern point of the reservation, is about three 

 hours' journey by small coasting steamer southeast of Surigao, 



Ii5°t0' 



Fig. 1. Outline of northern Surigao, showing: situation of iron-ore deposit. 



the provincial capital and port of call for boats from Manila (see 

 Plate I and fig. 1). The territory actually covered by the iron- 

 ore formation is considerably smaller than the reservation, but 

 occupies a strip along the coast within the boundary lines. The 

 sea off the eastern coast of Mindanao is exceedingly rough 

 during six months of the year, and good harbors are scarce. 

 Practically the only natural harbor in the iron-ore region is 

 Dahikan Bay. The waters inside this bay are thoroughly pro- 

 tected at all times and are abundantly deep (18 to 28 fathoms). 

 However, the entrance to the bay is narrow and might be 

 difficult of passage in rough weather. 



