Ilocos Sur province has six general land uses, namely: settlement areas – 77.11 sq.

km,
croplands – 613.15 sq. km., grasslands – 738.10 sq. km., shrublands – 727.09 sq. km.,
woodlands – 277.02 sq. km., and miscellaneous land uses – 146.21 sq. kms

Ilocos Sur is located along the western coast of Northern Luzon. It is bordered by Ilocos
Norte to the north, Abra to the northeast, Mountain Province to the east, Benguet to
the southeast, La Union to the south, and the China Sea to the west. Its area
of 2,579.58 square kilometers occupies about 20.11% of the total land area of Region
1.

>The topography of Ilocos Sur is undulating to rolling with elevations ranging from 10
to 1,700 metres (33 to 5,600 ft) above sea leve

he province of Ilocos Sur is located along the western coast of Northern Luzon. It is
bounded by Ilocos Norte in the north, Abra in the northeast, Mt. Province in the east,
Benguet in the southeast, La Union in the south and the Luzon Sea and Lingayen Gulf
in the west. The province falls within latitudes 16° 40’ to 17° 54’ north and
longitudes 120° 20’ to 120° 56’ east. Vigan City, the provincial capital is approximately
408 kilometers by road from Manila, 139 kilometers north of San Fernando
City, and 80 kilometers south of Laoag City.
 Ilocos Sur has an area of 2,579.60 square kilometers occupying about 20.10
percent of the total land area of the Ilocos Region. Among the municipalities, Quirino
and Cervantes have the largest area covering about 18.30 percent of the total
provincial area, while Sta. Catalina and San Vicente occupy the smallest area of
only 28.60 sq. km. or 1.10 percent of the total provincial area.

Land Area by Municipality/City: Ilocos Sur

LAND AREA
CITY / MUNICIPALITY
(SQ. KM.)
1. ALILEM 156.20

2. BANAYOYO 31.20

3. BANTAY 76.60

4. BURGOS 44.30

5. CABUGAO 60.10

6. CAOAYAN 26.00

7. CERVANTES 230.70

8. GALIMUYOD 34.40

9. G. DEL PILAR 104.20

10. LIDLIDDA 29.70

11. MAGSINGAL 85.20

12. NAGBUKEL 34.90

13. NARVACAN 98.40

14. QUIRINO 240.10

15. SALCEDO 23.10

16. SAN EMILIO 132.80

17. SAN ESTEBAN 23.40

18. SAN ILDEFONSO 17.20

19. SAN JUAN 52.10

20. SAN VICENTE 15.10

21. SANTA 51.60

22. STA. CATALINA 13.50

23. STA. CRUZ 101.60

24. STA. LUCIA 49.90

25. STA. MARIA 49.60

26. SANTIAGO 74.50

27. STO. DOMINGO 57.80

28. SIGAY 114.60

29. SINAIT 80.70

30. SUGPON 182.80

 31. SUYO 124.00

32. TAGUDIN 58.30

33. CANDON CITY 76.90

34. VIGAN CITY 27.40

ILOCOS SUR 2,579.60

Geographic Location and Area

Vigan, the capital town of Ilocos Sur is situated along the western coast of Northern Luzon.
It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Bantay; on the east by the municipality of
Santa; on the south by the municipality of Caoayan; on the west by the municipality of Sta.
Catalina and lastly, on the southwest by the China Sea. It is 408 kilometers from Manila; 80
km. from Laoag City and 139 km. from San Fernando, La Union.

It has a total land area of 2,886.085 hectares or 28.86085 sq. km. The heart of Vigan is
located approximately between the meridian 120 23’15” east longitude and the parallel 17
34’30” north latitude.
Vigan has 39 barangays, the poblacion barangays consist of nine barangays,with a total
land area of 192.45 hectares and the adjoining 30 barangays make 2,693.635 hectares.
Topography
The land area of Vigan is generally flat with slopes of 20 which are found at Brgy.V, Tamag,
and Paoa. Out of the 2,886 hectares of the land area, 36.60% is residential and 45.18% is
agricultural.

The drainage network of the eastern margin of Vigan-Bantay plain consist of deeply cut
valleys whose pattern is strongly controlled by main faulting trends, particularly those in the
northerly and easterly directions.

Vigan is being drained by the Vigan River and Bantay River, respectively, on the north and
on the south by Mestizo River whose water discharge comes from Bantaoay head water.

The relief of Vigan-Bantay plain is actively level to undulating with a slope ranging from 0%
to 8%. Vigan in particular is generally level with several hills in Brgy. Tamag, Bulala and
Salindeg, sometimes reaching about 50 meters in elevation and has a slope ranging from
3% to 8%.

The eastern margin of the plain characterized by a steep to a very steep slope, about 40%
to 60%, the relief often reaches an elevation of more than 600 meters especially in the
northerly and easterly portion.

The dominant topographic feature in the eastern margin of the town is the Vigan Gap Hill
where the continuous shifting Vigan River cuts its way. The Gap Hill is located
approximately 10 kilometers east of Vigan.

Hydrogeology
Folding and faulting apparently are absent in Vigan-Bantay plain except in the eastern and
southern margin of the plain. In the eastern margin, a north-south trending fault occurs
transecting the Pre-Quaternary rocks. The fault line runs from Sinait down to Bantay and
Santa, while the southern extension of the plain is bounded by another structural line that
trends northwest and southeast occurring from Santa down to Narvacan and Sta. Maria.

Surface Drainage
The Mestizo River
A sixteenth century map indicates that Vigan used to be completely surrounded by water
that separated in from the mainland like a triangular-shaped island. Geological observation
confirmed this, because the bodies of water surrounding Vigan were traced to have been
the main channels then flowing in a westerly direction and branched as the river dissecting
the Vigan ridge.

At present, the Mestizo River is just a mere river draining Vigan. It is almost devoid of fish
and is even at the verge of reaching intermittency.

A brief study was carried out to gather preliminary geological information necessary for the
plan of rejuvenating and developing the Mestizo River. The geologists of the National
Museum estimated that from the mouth of the river to the bridge of Caoayan with a distance
of about 2.5 kilometers long, with a width of 90 meters and at a depth of 2 meters, the
volume of sediments to be dredged is approximately 450,000 cubic meters.

Climate and Rainfall

Vigan falls under the first climate type in the Philippines which is characterized by two
pronounced season. The dry season normally commences from November to April reaching
its peak during the torrid months of April and May. The wet months are from June to
October, with the month of August as the rainiest period. The average annual rainfall is
190.683 mm. and the heaviest registered rainfall is 693.3 mm.

The average temperature is 26 °C. The average warmest temperature is 30.9 °C and the
average coldest temperature is 21.1 °C. An average of 7-10 typhoons visits Vigan annually.
The average relative humidity is 81%.

Soil Type and Suitability

The soils of the area have been classified by the Bureau of Soils into three main groups
based upon their topographic positions namely: (1) soil of the plains; (2) intermediate
upland soils; and (3) soils of the mountainous area.

The first group consists of Bantog Clay Loam, San Miguel Clay Loam, Beach Sand and
River Wash. The intermediate upland soils are represented by Bantay Clay Loam and
Umingan Sandy Loam. The mountain soil is represented by rough stony land.

The soil type of the city is classified into five (5). Vigan’s land resource is mostly made up of
the san manuel clay loam type of soil which is 49.55% of the total 2,886 hectares land area
of Vigan. This type of soil is best suited for planting bananas, cotton and vegetables. The
umingan soil on the other hand shares 47.44%, identified to be suitable for upland rice and
vegetables. The Bantog clay which is considered the most significant type of soil in Vigan
because this is used as raw material in the making of pots, jars and all earthen wares
(burnays) only makes up 1.26% of the total land area of Vigan. The last two types of soil,
the bantay loam which comprises 1.46% is considered as a pastureland and the beach
sand that covers only 0.29% of the city’s land resources.

Geologic Base and Mineral Resources

The sedimentary and metamorphic rocks that are present in the city are alluvium, fluviatille,
lacuatine, pludal and beach deposits namely: coral reefs, stools, and beach rock. These are
predominantly found along the coastal areas of Vigan. An important non-metallic mineral
resource found in Vigan is the kind of clay that is used in making earthen jars locally called
“burnay”. Earthenware of different uses and sizes are made of this kind of clay. Known as
Bantog Clay, the mineral is the basic material in making bricks. These bricks are the original
material in building the old Hispanic houses of Vigan.