The Philippines is an archipelago comprised of 7,107 islands

in the South China, Philippine, Sulu, and Celebes Seas,

along with the Luzon Strait. The topography of the islands is
mostly mountainous with narrow to large coastal lowlands,
depending on the island. The Philippines is divided into three
main geographic areas: the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The climate of the Philippines is tropical marine with a
northeast monsoon from November to April and a southwest
monsoon from May to October. The Philippines, like many
other tropical island nations, has problems with deforestation
and soil and water pollution. The Philippines' problems
with air pollution are especially bad because of large
populations in its urban centers.

 Physical Geography
The Philippine archipelago lies in Southeast Asia, and numbers some 7,641
islands. 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), with cadastral survey data suggesting it
may be larger. This makes it the 5th largest island country in the world. Only
approximately 1,000 of its islands are populated, and less than one-half of these are
larger than 2.5 square kilometers (1 sq mi). 

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. The Exclusive economic zone of the
2
Philippines covers 2,263,816 km  (874,064 sq mi), 200
nautical miles (370 km) from its shores. 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 to the east, the South China Sea to
the west, and the Celebes Sea to the south. The
island of Borneo is located a few hundred kilometers
southwest and Taiwan is located directly to the north.

 Geology
The Philippine Archipelago is geologically part of the Philippine Mobile Belt located between
the Philippine Sea Plate, the South China Sea Basin of the Eurasian Plate, and the Sunda
Plate. The Philippine Trench (also called the Mindanao Trench) is a submarine trench 1,320
kilometers (820 mi) in length found directly east of the Philippine Mobile Belt and is the result of
a collision of tectonic plates. The Philippine Sea Plate is sub ducting under the Philippine Mobile
Belt at the rate of about 16 centimeters (6.3 in) per year. The Philippine Fault System consists
of a series of seismic faults that produce several earthquakes per year, most of which are not
felt The Galathea Depth in the Philippine Trench is the deepest point in the country and the third

deepest in the world. The trench is located in the Philippine Sea.

The islands are composed of volcanic, coral, principal rock formations. Eight major types of
forests are distributed throughout the Philippines; dipterocarp, beach
forest, pine forest, molave forest, lower montane forest, upper montane or mossy
forest, mangroves, and ultrabasic forest the highest mountain is Mount Apo. It measures up to
2,954 meters (9,692 ft) above sea level and is located on the island of Mindanao. The second
highest point can be found on Luzon at Mount Pulag, a peak 2,842 meters (9,324 ft) above sea
level.

Situated on the western fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines experiences
frequent seismic and volcanic activity. The Benham Plateau to the east in the Philippine
Sea is an undersea region active
in tectonic subduction. Around
20 earthquakes are registered daily, though most
are too weak to be felt. The last major
earthquake was the 1990 Luzon
earthquake. There are many active
volcanoes such as the Mayon Volcano, Mount
Pinatubo, and Taal Volcano. The eruption of
Mount Pinatubo in June 1991 produced the
second largest terrestrial eruption of the
20th century. The Philippines is the world's
 second-biggest geothermal energy producer behind the United States, with 18% of the
country's electricity needs being met by geothermal power.

 Topography

The topography is extremely varied, with volcanic

mountain masses forming the cores of most of the
larger islands. The range culminates in Mt. Pulog
(elevation 2,928 m/9,606 ft) in northern Luzon and in
Mt. Apo, the highest point in the Philippines (elevation
2,954 m/9,692 ft), in Mindanao. A number of volcanoes
are active, and the islands have been subject to
destructive earthquakes. Lowlands are generally narrow
coastal strips except for larger plains in Luzon
(Cagayan Valley and Central Plains), Mindanao
(Cotabato and Davao-Agusan valleys), and others in
Negros and Panay. Rivers are short and generally
seasonal in flow. Important ones are the Cagayan,
Agno, Abra, Bicol, and Pampanga in Luzon and the
Cotabato and Agusan in Mindanao. Flooding is a
frequent hazard. The shores of many of the islands are
embayed (Manila Bay is one of the finest harbors in East Asia); however, several
islands lack adequate harbors and require offshore lightering for sea transport. The only
two inland water bodies of significant size are Laguna de Bay in Luzon and Lake Sultan
Alonto in Mindanao.
Self-Assessment
Direction: Encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. How many islands did the Philippines consists?

a. 7, 107 b. 7, 101 c. 7, 105 d. 7, 017

2. What is the reason why Philippines had a problem with air pollution?
a. Because, there were too many ducks in the Philippines.
b. Because, air conditioning systems are not commonly used in the Philippines.
c. Because, the urban areas were overly populated in the Philippines.
d. None of the above.

3. What part of the Asia does the Philippine archipelago lie?

a. Southeast Asia
b. Southwest Asia
c. Southern Asia
d. Asia Pacific

4. What is the direction of Taiwan from the Philippines?

a. West b. South c. North d. East

5. What is the name of the island that is located southwest of the Philippines?
a. Borneo b. Malaysia c. Guadalcanal d. Saipan

Simple Recall
Direction: Write correct answer on the space provided before each item.

____________________ 1. What is the other term for “the Philippine trench”?

____________________ 2. Name one of the eight major type of forest distributed in the
Philippines.
____________________ 3. What is the length of the Philippine trench?
____________________ 4. What is the name of the trench that is the deepest in the
country and world’s third deepest?
____________________ 5. What is the plate that sub ducts under the Philippine Mobile
Belt?
Fill in the blanks
Direction: Fill in your answers on the blank to justify the given paragraph.

The topography is extremely varied, with volcanic mountain masses forming the cores
of most of the larger islands. The range culminates in Mt. Pulog (elevation 2,928
m/9,606 ft) in northern Luzon and in (1) ____________, the highest point in the
Philippines (elevation 2,954 m/9,692 ft), in Mindanao. A number of (2) ____________
are active, and the islands have been subject to destructive earthquakes. (3)
____________ are generally narrow coastal strips except for larger plains in Luzon
(Cagayan Valley and Central Plains), Mindanao (Cotabato and Davao-Agusan valleys),
and others in Negros and Panay.
(4) ____________ are short and generally seasonal in flow. Important ones are the
Cagayan, Agno, Abra, Bicol, and Pampanga in Luzon and the Cotabato and Agusan in
Mindanao. (5) ____________ is a frequent hazard. The shores of many of the islands
are embayed (Manila Bay is one of the finest harbors in East Asia); however, several
islands lack adequate harbors and require offshore lightering for sea transport. The only
two inland water bodies of significant size are Laguna de Bay in Luzon and Lake Sultan
Alonto in Mindanao.
Answer Keys

Self-Assessment
Simple Recall
1. a.
1. Mindanao Trench
2. c.
2. dipterocarp, beach
3. a.
forest, pine forest, molave forest, lower
4. c. montane forest, upper montane or mossy
5. a. forest, mangroves, and ultrabasic forest 
3. 1,320 kilometers (820 mi)
4. The Galathea Depth
5. The Philippine Sea Plate

Fill in the blanks

1. Mt. Apo
2. Volcanoes
3. Lowlands
4. Rivers
5. Flooding