Babuyan Islands

The Babuyan Islands (/bɑːbəˈjɑːn/ bah-bə-YAHN), also known as the Babuyan Group of Islands, is an archipelago in the Philippines, located in the Luzon Strait north of the main island of Luzon and south of Taiwan via Bashi Channel to Luzon Strait. The archipelago consists of five major islands and their surrounding smaller islands. These main islands are, counterclockwise starting from northeast, Babuyan, Calayan, Dalupiri, Fuga, and Camiguin. The Babuyan Islands are separated from Luzon by the Babuyan Channel, and from the province of Batanes to the north by the Balintang Channel.

This article is about the group of islands. For the island within Babuyan Islands, see Babuyan Island.
Babuyan Islands
Babuyan Islands of Luzon Strait
Babuyan Islands is located in Philippines
Babuyan Islands
Babuyan Islands
Location within the Philippines
Geography
LocationLuzon Strait
Coordinates19°15′N 121°40′E
Adjacent to
Total islands24
Major islands
Area600 km2 (230 sq mi)[1]
Administration
RegionCagayan Valley
ProvinceCagayan
Municipality
Demographics
Population19,349 (2020)[2]
Pop. density32.2/km2 (83.4/sq mi)

Geography

The archipelago, comprising 24 volcanic-coralline islands, has a total area of about 590 km2 (230 sq mi).[1] The largest of these is Calayan with an area of 196 km2 (76 sq mi), while the highest peak in the island group is Mount Pangasun (1,108 metres, 3,635 ft) on Babuyan Claro.[3]

Islands

The following are the islands of Babuyan and their adjoining islets and rocks,[4] along with land areas and highest elevation:

Major island Adjacent islets Area[3] Highest elevation[3]
Babuyan Claro
  • Pan de Azucar Island
 100 km2
39 sq mi		 1,108 m
3,635 ft
Calayan Island
  • Panuitan Island
  • Wyllie Rocks
 196 km2
76 sq mi		 499 m
1,637 ft
Camiguin
  • Guinapac Rocks
  • Pamoctan Island
    (area: 0.7 km2, 0.27 sq mi
    elevation: 202 m, 663 ft)
  • Pinon Island
 166 km2
64 sq mi		 828 m
2,717 ft
Dalupiri Island
  • Irao Islet
 50 km2
19 sq mi		 297 m
974 ft
Fuga Island 70 km2
27 sq mi		 208 m
682 ft
Didicas Island 0.7 km2
0.27 sq mi		 244 m
801 ft
Balintang Islands

Geology
Babuyan Islands satellite image captured by Sentinel-2 in 2016
Smith Volcano on Babuyan Island

The eastern islands of the archipelago are part of the Luzon Volcanic Arc. Three volcanoes from two of the islands have erupted in historical times - Camiguin de Babuyanes on Camiguin Island,[5] Babuyan Claro Volcano and Smith Volcano (also known as Mount Babuyan) on Babuyan Island.[6]

Another small volcanic island located just 22 km (14 mi) NE of Camiguin Island, Didicas Volcano on Didicas Island, became a permanent island only after emerging and rising to over 200 metres (656 ft) above sea level in 1952.[7][8]

Flora and fauna

All of the islands within the island group are classified by Haribon Foundation and BirdLife International as key biodiversity areas, or sites with outstanding universal value due to its geographic and biologic importance. All of the islands within the island group have never been part of any large landmass, and thus have unique flora and fauna, most of which are found nowhere else. A research conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources have found at least 5 faunal regions in the area, one of the highest density of separate faunal regions in the world. The islands are also home to the most critically endangered bird species in the Philippines, the Calayan rail (found only on the small island of Calayan), and the most critically endangered snake species in the Philippines, the Ross' wolf snake (found only on the small island of Dalupiri). The island group is also a congregation site for endangered humpback whales, one of the only few of its kind in Southeast Asia. Due to its immense value to the natural world and Philippine biological diversity, various scientific and conservation groups have been lobbying for its declaration as a national park and its inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Humpback whales have re-colonized into the area and the Babuyan became the only wintering ground for the species in the Philippines[9][10] although historical records among Babuyan Islands have not been confirmed.[11]

Demographics

List of islands by population (as of 2020):[2]

  1. Calayan Island - 9,648
  2. Camiguin Island - 5,231
  3. Fuga Island - 1,939
  4. Babuyan Island - 1,910
  5. Dalupiri Island - 621
  6. Barit Island - 14

Government

The whole archipelago is administered under the province of Cagayan with Babuyan, Calayan, Camiguin, and Dalupiri comprising the municipality of Calayan[12] while Fuga is under the jurisdiction of Aparri.[13]

Babuyan and Dalupiri are themselves individual barangays in Calayan municipality, respectively named Babuyan Claro and Dalupiri, while Fuga Island is also an individual barangay, also named Fuga Island, in Aparri.

References
  1. "Babuyan Islands - island group, Philippines". www.britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  2. Census of Population (2020). "Region II (Cagayan Valley)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  3. Genevieve Broad; Carl Oliveros. "Biodiversity and conservation priority setting in the Babuyan Islands, Philippines" (PDF). The Technical Journal of Philippine Ecosystems and Natural Resources. 15 (1–2): 1–30. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  4. U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (1919). "United States Coast Pilot, Philippine Islands, Part 1", pp. 41–44. Government Printing Office, Washington
  5. "Camiguin de Babuyanes". Global Volcanism Program. Retrieved on 2013-04-01.
  6. "Babuyan Claro". Global Volcanism Program. Retrieved on 2013-04-01.
  7. "Didicas". Global Volcanism Program. Retrieved on 2013-04-01.
  8. Gideon Lasco. "From 7,107 to 7,641". Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  9. The BALYENA.ORG. humpback whale research in the babuyan islands – research, education and conservation. Retrieved on December 25. 2014
  10. The Center for Rural Empowerment and the Environment. Humpback Whales – Philippines – Babuyan Islands humpback whales project Archived 2014-12-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on December 25, 2014
  11. Acebes V.M.J., 2009, A history of Whaling in Philippines Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine, Historical Perspectives of Fisheries Exploitation in the Indo-Pacific, Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University
  12. "Calayan" Archived 2014-07-12 at the Wayback Machine. Official Website of the Provincial Government of Cagayan. Retrieved on 2013-04-01.
  13. "Aparri" Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine. Official Website of the Provincial Government of Cagayan. Retrieved on 2013-04-01.
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