The document provides an overview of the natural geography of the Philippines, including: 1. Theories on the formation of the Philippine archipelago from both Christian and Philippine mythology. 2. A brief history of cartography and geological theories including continental drift and plate tectonics which help explain the archipelago's formation. 3. Details on the location, size, and topography of the Philippines as well as its major rivers, regions, ecosystems, and natural resources which include minerals, geothermal power, fish, and timber. 4. A mention of the diverse flora and fauna found in the Philippines, including many endemic plant and animal species.

1. Chapter IIThe Natural Settings and its People<br />1.How the Earth was in the Beginning<br />The story of Creation found in the book of Genesis in The Holy Bible tells how God created the heavens and earth, and so as man in His own image in likeness.

2. Filipino Mythology

3. Tagalog Legend. It presents how Bathala created the Filipino people as well as the formation of the Philippine archipelago.

4. Visayan Legend. The legend tells how Manaul, a mythical bird, asked the help of Kaptan, the god of the sea, and Magauayan, the god of the air to help him find a resting place. The gods asserting their might against each other paved the way to the formation of the Philippine archipelago.

5. The Legend of Bernardo Carpio. An imaginative explanation of how the country was shaken by earthquakes. Earthquakes as explained by this myth is caused by Bernardo Carpio’s effort to push the mountains of Montalban.c.Analytic Geology<br />Uniformitarian theory. Maintains that the laws of nature have remain constant and that the physical and chemical processes that have acted throughout the geologic time are the same processes seen today.

6. Ptolemy produced the first collection of maps in about 150 A.D.

7. Maps or charts covering the entire world or specific regions are contained in an atlas.

8. The term was derived from the Greek mythological figure Atlas.

9. Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theater of the Earth) was considered the first modern atlas published by Abraham Ortelius, a Dutch cartographer in 1570.

10. Ortelius also realized that the coast of America, Europe, and Africa could be linked together like a huge jigsaw puzzle.

11. Theory of continental drift supposes a supercontinent called Pangaea, a Greek word meaning all land.

12. Pangaea, later on separated into two, Laurasia, the northern portion, and Gondwanaland, the southern portion.

13. Another theory, the plate tectonics theory, explains that the lithosphere (the outer layer) moves sideways above a less rigid layer called the asthenosphere, which is under extreme pressure.

14. It gained a far reaching acceptance in the field of science.

15. Geological Foundations

16. Geologic time scale. The first geologic time scale was proposed in 1913 by the British geologist Arthur Holmes (1890 - 1965). This was soon after the discovery of radioactivity, and using it, Holmes estimated that the Earth was about 4 billion years old - this was much greater than previously believed.

17. The Philippines was believed to be adjoined to Formosa.

18. The combined effects of volcanism and other tectonic movements of the basement complex brought about the disjunction.

19. The emergence of man on earth was estimated at 5 million years BP (Before the Present).

20. Fluvial condition refers to the climatic condition characterized by extensive and continuous rain.

21. Recent studies claim that the earth has undergone 20 cycles of glaciations over the past 2 million years.

22. Some historians claim that the Philippines is a remnant of a lost continent in the Pacific called Mu or Lemuria.

23. Pacific Magmatic Theory claims that the Philippines came into existence after the eruptions of volcanoes beneath the Pacific Ocean in remote epochs.

24. Asiatic Theory or Land Bridges Theory states that the Philippines was once part of Continental Asia.

25. Sunda Shelf and Sahul Shelf are extensions of continents otherwise known as continental shelves.3. The Archipelagos Name<br />Ma-yi or Ma-I was the name used by the Chinese to refer to the archipelago.

26. Magellan named the archipelago Islas de San Lazaro (Island of St. Lazarus).

27. It was Ruy Lopez de Villalobos who named the archipelago Filipinas in honor of King Philip II.

28. Fr. Juan J. Delgado called Manila Pearl of the Orient.

29. Rizal used Pearl of the Orient Seas to refer to the Philippines in his Mi Ultimo Adios.

30. Philippine Islands (P.I.) during the American colonial era and later on renamed Republic of the Philippines (R.P.) after the recognition of its independence in 1946.

31. Artemio Ricarte wanted to call the country Rizaline Republic in honor of Rizal.

32. Marcos proposed the name Maharlika after his dream of making the country great again.4.Geography and Resources<br />Location: The Philippines, found in the Western Pacific Ocean, has an astronomical location of 4 ° 23'-21 °25’ N. Latitude and 116°-127° E. Longitude. It comprises an archipelago of some 7,107 islands located off Southeast Asia, between the South China Sea on the west and the Philippine Sea on the east. The major islands are Luzon in the north, the Visayan Islands in the middle, and Mindanao in the south. <br />Size: The total area is about 300,000 square kilometers, including about 298,000 square kilometers of land and about 2,000 square kilometers of water. The Philippines stretches about 1,850 kilometers from Y’Ami Island in the north to Saluag Isle, only 34 miles east of Borneo. <br />Land Boundaries: The Philippines has no land boundaries. Nearby neighbors are Taiwan to the north, Malaysia and Indonesia to the south, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest.<br />Length of Coastline: Estimates of the total length of the coastline range from 17,500 kilometers (official Philippine figure) to 36,289 kilometers (U.S. figure).<br />Topography: The Philippines consists of volcanic islands, including active volcanoes, with mostly mountainous interiors surrounded by flat lowlands and alluvial plains of varying widths along the coasts. The elevation ranges from sea level to the highest point of Mount Apo on Mindanao Island, at 2,954 meters above sea level.<br />Principal Rivers: The longest river is the Cagayan (Río Grande de Cagayan) on Luzon, about 350 kilometers in length. Other principal rivers on Luzon include the Abra, Bicol, Chico, and Pampanga. The Pasig River is only about 25 kilometers in length but serves as the main waterway, flowing between Laguna de Bay, the largest freshwater lake in the Philippines, through metropolitan Manila to Manila Bay. Principal rivers on Mindanao include the Mindanao River (known as the Pulangi River in its upper reaches), and the Agusan. The St. Paul River on Palawan is an eight-kilometer-long underground river.<br />Regions<br />locos Region (Region I)

33. Cagayan Valley (Region II)

34. Central Luzon (Region III)

35. CALABARZON (Region IV-A)

36. MIMAROPA (Region IV-B)

37. Bicol Region (Region V)

38. Western Visayas (Region VI)

39. Central Visayas (Region VII)

40. Eastern Visayas (Region VIII)

41. Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX)

42. Northern Mindanao (Region X)

43. Davao Region (Region XI)

44. Soccsksargen (Region XII)

45. Caraga (Region XIII)

46. Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)

47. Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)

48. NationalCapital Region (NCR; Metro Manila)h.Ecosystems<br />Forests<br />Ponds<br />Grassland<br />Valleys<br />Plains<br />Rivers<br />Seas<br />i. Natural Resources: The major natural mineral resources include coal, cobalt, copper, chromite, gold, gypsum, iron, natural gas, nickel, petroleum, salt, silver, and sulfur. There are lesser deposits of bauxite, lead, mercury, molybdenum, and zinc. Other important resources are geothermal and hydroelectric power, fish, and timber.<br />j.Flora and fauna: Plant and animal species in the Philippines is both diverse and beautiful. The Philippine Islands sit south of Japan, near the equator. The lovely tropical climate causes many species to flourish. Some unique animal found in the country are tamaraw, Calamian dear, tarsier, whale shark, Philippine eagle, kalaw, katala and many others. The country is also home to 25,00 species of insects. Among the 10,000 species of flowers are sampaguita, dama de noche, and waling-waling.<br />