The 

Philippines is an archipelago that comprises 7,641 islands[8] with a total land area of 300,000

square kilometers (115,831 sq mi).[2][3] It is the world's 5th largest island country.[9] The eleven largest
islands contain 95% of the total land area. The largest of these islands is Luzon at about 105,000
square kilometers (40,541 sq mi). The next largest island is Mindanao at about 95,000 square
kilometers (36,680 sq mi). The archipelago is around 800 kilometers (500 mi) from
the Asian mainland and is located between Taiwan and Borneo.
The Philippine archipelago is divided into three Island groups: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
The Luzon islands include Luzon
itself, Palawan, Mindoro, Marinduque, Masbate, Romblon, Catanduanes, Batanes, and Polillo. The
Visayas is the group of islands in the central Philippines, the largest of which
are: Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Siquijor, Biliran, and Guimaras. The Mindanao
islands include Mindanao itself, Dinagat, Siargao, Camiguin, Samal, plus the Sulu Archipelago,
composed primarily of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
The Philippine archipelago lies in Southeast Asia, and numbers some 7,641 islands.[7][10] The Philippines
occupies an area that stretches for 1,850 kilometers (1,150 mi) from about the fifth to the twentieth
parallels north latitude. The total land area is 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi),[1][11][12][2][3] with
cadastral survey data suggesting it may be larger. [13] This makes it the 5th largest island country in the
world.[9] Only approximately 1,000 of its islands are populated, and fewer than one-half of these are
larger than 2.5 square kilometers (1 sq mi). Eleven islands make up 95 percent of the Philippine
landmass, and two of these — Luzon and Mindanao — measure 105,000 square kilometers
(40,541 sq mi) and 95,000 square kilometers (36,680 sq mi), respectively. They, together with the cluster
of islands in Visayas in between them, represent the three principal regions of the archipelago that are
identified by the three stars on the Philippine flag. The Philippines is broken up in many islands by
the sea. This gives it the fifth longest coastline of 36,289 kilometers (22,549 mi) in the world.[14]
[15]
 The Exclusive economic zone of the Philippines covers 2,263,816 km2 (874,064 sq mi), 200 nautical
miles (370 km) from its shores.[16] It is located between 116° 40', and 126° 34' E longitude and 4° 40' and
21° 10' N latitude and is bordered by the Philippine Sea[17] to the east, the South China Sea[18] to the
west, and the Celebes Sea to the south.[19] The island of Borneo is located a few hundred kilometers
southwest[20] and Taiwan is located directly to the north. The Moluccas and Sulawesi are located to the
south-southwest and Palau is located to the east of the islands. [21]

Off the coast of eastern Mindanao is the Philippine Trench, which descends to a depth of 10,430 meters
(34,220 ft). The Philippines is part of a western Pacific arc system characterized by active volcanoes.
Among the most notable peaks are Mount Mayon near Legazpi City, Taal Volcano south of Manila,
and Mount Apo in Mindanao. All of the Philippine islands are prone to earthquakes. The northern Luzon
highlands, or Cordillera Central, rise to between 2,500 meters (8,200 ft) and 2,750 meters (9,020 ft),
and, together with the Sierra Madre in the northeastern portion of Luzon and the mountains of
Mindanao, boast rain forests that provide refuge for numerous upland tribal groups. The rain forests
also offer prime habitat for more than 500 species of birds, including the Philippine eagle (or monkey-
eating eagle), some 1,100 species of orchids, and some 8,500 species of flowering plants.

The longest river is the Cagayan River in northern Luzon, measuring about 520 kilometers (320 mi).
[22]
 Manila Bay,[23] upon the shore of which the capital city of Manila lies, is connected to Laguna de Bay,
[24]
 the largest lake in the Philippines, by the Pasig River.[25] Subic Bay,[26] the Davao Gulf,[27] and the Moro
Gulf are other important bays.[28] The San Juanico Strait separates the islands of Samar and Leyte but it is
traversed by the San Juanico Bridge.[29] The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, which runs 8.2
kilometers (5.1 mi) underground through a karst landscape before reaching the ocean, is
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[30]

Other extensive river systems are the Pulangi River, which flows into the Mindanao River (Rio Grande de
Mindanao); the Agusan, in Mindanao which flows north into the Mindanao Sea; and the Pampanga,
which flows south from east Central Luzon into Manila Bay. Several rivers have been harnessed for
hydroelectric power.

A global remote sensing analysis suggested in 2018 that there were 2,126km² of tidal flats in the
Philippines and is therefore ranked as the 15th country in terms of how much tidal flat occurs there. [31]

To protect the country's biological resources, the government has taken a first step of preparing
a Biodiversity Action Plan to address conservation of threatened species.

Most of the islands used to be covered by tropical rainforests. However, illegal logging has reduced
forest cover to less than 10% of the total land area.