The Babuyan Islands ( ), also known as the Babuyan Group of Islands, is an archipelago in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, located in the
Luzon Strait
The Luzon Strait (Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Luzon'', ) is the strait between Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean.
This body of water is an im ...
north of the main island of
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
and south of
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
via
Bashi Channel
The Bashi Channel is a waterway between Y'Ami Island of the Philippines and Orchid Island of Taiwan. It is a part of the Luzon Strait in the Pacific Ocean. It is characterized by windy storms during the rainy period, June to December.
The Bash ...
to
Luzon Strait
The Luzon Strait (Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Luzon'', ) is the strait between Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean.
This body of water is an im ...
. The archipelago consists of five major islands and their surrounding smaller islands. These main islands are, counterclockwise starting from northeast,
Babuyan,
Calayan,
Dalupiri,
Fuga
Fuga Island is an island and barangay located north of Luzon and is part of the Babuyan Islands, which is the second-northernmost island group of the Philippines. Barangay Fuga Island is one of the 42 barangays under the jurisdiction of the munic ...
, and
Camiguin
Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin ( ceb, Probinsya sa Camiguin; tl, Lalawigan ng Camiguin; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of Mi ...
. The Babuyan Islands are separated from Luzon by the
Babuyan Channel, and from the province of
Batanes to the north by the
Balintang Channel.
Geography
The archipelago, comprising 24 volcanic-coralline islands, has a total area of about .
The largest of
these is Calayan with an area of , while the highest peak in the island group is Mount Pangasun () on Babuyan Claro.
Islands
The following are the islands of Babuyan and their adjoining islets and rocks, along with land areas and highest elevation:
Geology
![Smith Volcano 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Smith_Volcano_1.jpg)
The eastern islands of the archipelago are part of the
Luzon Volcanic Arc
The Luzon Volcanic Arc is a chain of volcanoes in a north–south line across the Luzon Strait from Taiwan to Luzon. The name "Luzon Volcanic Arc" was first proposed by Carl Bowin et al. to describe a series of Miocene to recent volcanoes due to ...
. Three volcanoes from two of the islands have erupted in historical times -
Camiguin de Babuyanes
Camiguin de Babuyanes is an active stratovolcano on Camiguin Island, part of the Babuyan Islands group that is located in Luzon Strait, north of the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. The volcano and the island are within the jurisdiction of ...
on Camiguin Island,
Babuyan Claro Volcano and
Smith Volcano
Smith Volcano, also known as Mount Babuyan, is a cinder cone on Babuyan Island, the northernmost of the Babuyan group of islands on Luzon Strait, north of the main island of Luzon in the Philippines. The mountain is one of the active volcano ...
(also known as Mount Babuyan) on Babuyan Island.
Another small volcanic island located just NE of Camiguin Island,
Didicas Volcano
Didicas Volcano is an active volcanic island in the province of Cagayan in northern Philippines. The island, which was a submarine volcano and re-emerged from the sea in 1952, is NE of Camiguin Island, one of the Babuyan Islands in Luzon Stra ...
on Didicas Island, became a permanent island only after emerging and rising to over above sea level in 1952.
Flora and fauna
All of the islands within the island group are classified by
Haribon Foundation
The Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources, Inc., simply known as Haribon Foundation, is a nature conservation organization in the Philippines. The name "Haribon" ("bird king") is a reference to the Philippine eagle. The gro ...
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
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman, DENR or KKLY) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, developmen ...
have found at least 5 faunal regions in the area, one of the highest density of separate faunal regions in the world. The islands is also home to the most critically endangered
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
species in the Philippines, the
Calayan rail
The Calayan rail (''Aptenorallus calayanensis'') is a flightless bird of the rail, moorhen, and coot family (Rallidae) that inhabits Calayan Island in the Philippines. It is the only member of the genus ''Aptenorallus''. Though well known to nat ...
(found only on the small island of Calayan), and the most critically endangered
snake
Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...
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
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
. 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
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage List
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
.
Humpback whale
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...
s have re-colonized into the area and the Babuyan became the only wintering ground for the species in the Philippines although historical records among Babuyan Islands have not been confirmed.
Demographics
List of islands by population (as of 2020):
#
Calayan Island
Calayan Island is located about west-south-west of Babuyan Island off the north coast of the Philippines and belongs to the Babuyan Islands group in the Luzon Strait. The island is hemmed between Aparri and Batanes islands and it is larger than ...
- 9,648
#
Camiguin Island - 5,231
#
Fuga Island
Fuga Island is an island and barangay located north of Luzon and is part of the Babuyan Islands, which is the second-northernmost island group of the Philippines. Barangay Fuga Island is one of the 42 barangays under the jurisdiction of the munic ...
- 1,939
#
Babuyan Island - 1,910
#
Dalupiri Island - 621
#
Barit Island
Barit (historically Bari) is a small, wooded, privately owned island in northern Cagayan, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of Barangay Fuga Island in the municipality of Aparri.
Location and geography
Barit Island is north of Luzon Is ...
- 14
Government
The whole archipelago is administered under the province of
Cagayan
Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...
with Babuyan, Calayan, Camiguin, and Dalupiri comprising the municipality of
Calayan while Fuga is under the jurisdiction of
Aparri
Aparri ( ilo, Ili ti Aparri; tl, Bayan ng Aparri), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people.
It sits at the mouth of ...
.
"Aparri"
. Official Website of the Provincial Government of Cagayan. Retrieved on 2013-04-01.
Babuyan and Dalupiri are themselves individual barangay
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...
s in Calayan municipality, respectively named Babuyan Claro and Dalupiri, while Fuga Island is also an individual barangay, also named Fuga Island, in Aparri.
References
External links
Information on Fuga Island
Babuyan language wordlist at the Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database
{{Authority control
Islands of Cagayan
Archipelagoes of the Philippines
Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean