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The Philippines is an archipelago that consists of 7,107 islands with a total land area of . The 11 largest islands contain 94% of the total land area. The largest of these islands is Luzon at about . The next largest island is Mindanao at about . The archipelago is around from the Asian mainland and is located between Taiwan and Borneo. The Philippine archipelago is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Luzon islands include Luzon Island itself, Palawan, Mindoro, Marinduque, Masbate, Romblon, Catanduanes, Batanes Islands and Polilio Is.. 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 Is., Siargao Is., Camiguin, Samal Is., plus the Sulu Archipelago, composed primarily of Basilan, Sulu Island, and Tawi-Tawi. ==Physical geography== The Philippine archipelago lies in Southeast Asia in a position that has led to its becoming a cultural crossroads - a place where Malays, Hindus, Arabs, Chinese, Spaniards, Americans, and others had interacted to forge a unique cultural and racial blend. The archipelago numbers some 7,107 islands; and the nation claims an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of from its shores. The Philippines occupies an area that stretches for from about the fifth to the twentieth parallels north latitude. The total land area is slightly more than . Only approximately 1,000 of its islands are populated, and fewer than one-half of these are larger than . Eleven islands make up 95 percent of the Philippine landmass, and two of these — Luzon and Mindanao — measure and , 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 by the sea, which gives it one of the longest coastlines of any nation in the world. Off the coast of eastern Mindanao is the Philippine Trench, which descends to a depth of . 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 and , 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 country's most 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; the Cagayan in northern Luzon; and the Pampanga, which flows south from east Central Luzon into Manila Bay. Laguna de Bay, east of Manila Bay, is the largest freshwater lake in the Philippines. Several rivers have been harnessed for hydroelectric power. 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Geography of the Philippines」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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