76 
COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
Dedica, and gradually grew till it attained its present 
height of about 800 feet. 
The lakes of Luzon are very numerous, especially in 
the province of Pampanga. The Laguna de Canaren. on 
the highest part of this plain, has two rivers flowing from 
it in opposite directions—one northward to the Gulf of 
Lingayan, the other south to Manila Bay. The Laguna 
de Cagayan in north Luzon is another great sheet of 
water. The term Pinag is applied to the temporary 
lakes which are so abundant in the rainy season from the 
overflow of the rivers. Of these one of the most import¬ 
ant is the Pinag de Candava, about 30 miles north of 
Manila. During the rains it is 15 miles or more in 
length, but in the dry season it becomes a verdant plain 
of grass with a few permanent pools of water. 
According to the latest estimate, the population of 
the island of Luzon is 2,964,933. It is divided among 
twenty-nine provinces, and there are many populous 
pueblos of from 10,000 to 20,000 inhabitants. That a 
steady increase has taken place in some parts of the 
island is evident from the following statistics of the 
Tayabas Province:— 
Year 
1754 
1831 
1850 
1882 
Population 
21,000 
59,000 
81,000 
104,000 
Manila, Sual (Lingayan), and Legaspi (Albay) are free 
ports, but few British vessels enter the two latter. 
Mindoro, 
Mindoro, though one of the great islands, and the 
nearest to Manila, is one of the least known and least 
