
CHAPTER | 
THE ISLANDS AND THEIR POPULATION 
The Islands. The Philippines are a group of over 
four hundred considerable islands—plus about three 
thousand smaller ones—which with few exceptions are 
separated from one another only by narrow channels. 
There is probably no other archipelago in the world that 
contains as many islands so compactly situated. The 
total land area aggregates 115,000 square miles, or 
somewhat more than the state of Arizona and a little 
less than Great Britain and Ireland combined. The 
largest island is Luzon in the north; the next, Mindanao 
in the south. In a geographical sense, these two islands 
are the mainstay of the archipelago; they make up two- 
thirds of its area. Between them lies the central or 
Bisayan group, which consists of numerous small islands 
interspersed among seven of medium size: Panay, 
Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, and Masbate. The 
largest of these is about one-eighth the size of Luzon. 
Outside of Luzon, Mindanao, and the central group, the 
Philippine Islands are small, and often lie in chains 
which form bridges, as it were, to other parts of the East 
Indies. 
The first of these bridges reaches northward from the 
northern end of Luzon, and is obviously nothing but a 
continuation of the main cordillera that follows the 
east coast of this island. This chain consists of the 
small Babuyanes and Batanes, which stretch in the 
direction of Formosa. It is said that from the farthest 
of the Batanes, Formosa is visible in clear weather. 
This large island in turn fronts the coast of China at 
no great distance. 
The main cordillera traverses the entire irregular 
length of Luzon, reappears in Samar and Leyte, and 
again forms a steep wall along the eastern coast of 
17 


