9 2 



The National Geographic Magazine 



own. At present no shipmaster thinks 

 of entering a Philippine harbor, unless 

 it be one with which he has familiarized 

 himself, without carefully feeling his 

 way by sounding. 



Throughout northern and central 

 Luzon runs a range of mountains parallel 

 to the Pacific coast and closely border- 

 ing it, known as Sierra Madre. This 

 range rises to heights of 4,000 to 5,000 

 feet, the highest portion being in the 

 north. West of this is the broad valley 

 of Cagayan River, one of the largest 

 streams of the island, which flows north- 

 ward, entering the sea at Aparri. This 

 valley is the principal tobacco region of 

 the Philippines, and is fairly well set- 

 tled with about 200,000 people. For 

 two-thirds of its length the river is navi- 

 gable for small boats, which carry the 

 products to Aparri. 



West of this valley is a mountain sys- 

 tem called Caraballos Occidentalis. This 

 system consists of a main range with 

 many subordinate spurs and branch 

 ranges, on the east separating branches 

 of the Cagayan River, and on the west 

 running down to the coast, separating 

 from one another the streams which flow 

 directly into China Sea. Many peaks 

 of this range exceed 6,000 feet in height, 

 and a few are more than 7,000 feet. 

 The spurs from this range come down 

 closely to the coast, leaving only a nar- 

 row strip of cultivable land along the 

 shore. 



West of the Sierra Madre, in central 

 Luzon, is a great depression or valley 

 extending from Lingayan Gulf south- 

 ward through Manila Bay and the La- 

 guna de Bay to the highlands, separating 

 Cavite province from Batangas. This 

 valley has a length of nearly 150 miles, 

 with an average breadth of at least 40 

 miles. Its floor is nearly level and 

 throughout a large part of the area is 

 raised but little above sea level. Much of 

 it, especially near Manila Bay and Lin- 

 gayan Gulf , consists of low alluvial lands 

 but a few feet above tide, intersected by 



numerous bayous or estuaries. These 

 regions are in fact delta plains formed 

 by the Pampanga and Agno rivers. 

 Manila Bay is a part of this depression, 

 as is also the shallow Laguna de Bay, 

 which nowhere has a depth exceeding 

 20 feet. Indeed, the Laguna de Bay is 

 so shallow that at low water the steam 

 launches which traverse it stir up the 

 mud from its bottom almost constantly 

 with their screws. This lake is drained 

 by the River Pasig to Manila Bay. 



Photo by Gannett 



An Ilocano Boy on One of the Small 

 and Wiry Filipino Ponies 



This great valley is the most densely 

 settled part of the Philippines, contain- 

 ing nearly one-fourth of the civilized 

 people of the islands. 



West of this valley rises the Zambales 

 Range, which, with the Mariveles peaks 

 at the southern end, forms the back- 

 bone of the Zambalan Peninsula. 



South of this great valley of central 

 Luzon, in Batangas Province, is Lake 

 Taal, which occupies the crater of an 

 enormous extinct volcano, whose rim 



