IX, A, 3 Dalburg and Pratt: Iron Ores of Bulacan 207 



on Angat River about 17 kilometers upstream from Baliuag where 

 the Manila-Cabanatuan branch line of the Manila Eailroad 

 crosses the river. There is a fair road between Angat and Ba- 

 liuag and a first-class road from Baliuag to Manila. From Angat 

 it is possible to reach Manila more directly by going to Bocaue 

 over a very poor road and thence to Manila by train. It is 

 likewise possible to ship freight from Manila to the vicinity of 

 Baliuag by shallow-water transportation across Manila Bay and 

 up Angat River. 



From Angat to the ore deposits transportation is difficult. 

 Only foot trails are in use at present, and on account of the 

 rugged topography the construction of better roads would be 

 expensive. It is more feasible to approach the northernmost ore 

 deposit, Camaching, by going north to Sibul and then coming 

 back southeast up to the valley of Balaong River to the ore 

 deposit. By this route Camaching is 147 kilometers from Manila, 

 while a direct route via Angat is only 80 kilometers in length. 



PHYSIOGRAPHY 



The area shown on the general geologic map includes a part 

 of the low-lying, flat Central Plain of Luzon and the foothills of 

 the Eastern Cordillera up to the crest of the first or westernmost 

 range. Although the highest elevations are only about 1,000 

 meters, the drainage is deeply incised between sharp ridges and 

 peaks with precipitous slopes. The greater part of the moun- 

 tainous area including the vicinity of the ore deposits lies at 

 elevations between 200 and 500 meters. 



At this latitude (about 15° N.), the Eastern Cordillera is made 

 up of three parallel ranges trending in a general north-south 

 direction. Angat River flowing southward in its upper portion 

 separates the western and central ranges to a point south of the 

 ore deposits where it breaks through the western range and flows 

 westward across the Central Plain. The upper part of Angat 

 River receives very little water from eastward-flowing tribu- 

 taries, and does not control the water courses in the vicinity of 

 the ore deposits. Instead, drainage from territory immediately 

 adjacent to it on the west, including the region of the southern 

 ore deposits, escapes to the west through Bayabas River, a sub- 

 sidiary and roughly parallel stream, which reaches the edge of 

 the Central Plain before it finally joins the larger stream. Ba- 

 laong River, rising in the vicinity of Camaching very close to the 

 upper Angat farther north, flows northwest out of the area, 

 while between Balaong and Bayabas Rivers several streams flow 

 westward from the iron-ore region to the Central Plain. 



