Caballo Island (which means "Horse Island" in Spanish) is a bluff, rocky island located at the entrance to
Manila Bay
Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phi ...
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 ...
. It is about long with the highest elevation at 381 feet high. Caballo, along with the larger Corregidor (2 km to the north), divides the entrance to the bay into two broad and deep channels, known as the North and South Channel.U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, "United States Coast Pilot Philippine Islands Part I", pp.71-72. Washington Government Printing Office, 1919.
The whole island was formerly occupied by
Fort Hughes
Fort Hughes was built by the Philippine Department of the U.S. Army on Caballo Island in the Philippines in the early 1900s. The fort, which part of the Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays, was named for Major General Robert Patterson Hu ...
, a U.S. defense fortification before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was heavily bombed during the war.
Geological history
Caballo and Corregidor Islands are believed to be the rims of the
Corregidor Caldera
Corregidor Caldera is an extinct volcanic caldera located at the entrance to Manila Bay in the Philippines. The caldera is composed of the islands of Corregidor and Caballo in the province of Cavite,
In November 2014, Filipino peacekeepers from
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
who were quarantined on the island for 21 days due to concerns about
Ebola
Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...
were cleared to return to the mainland. At that time
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
Philippine Navy
The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...
and is off limits to civilians. Remains of the old fortifications, batteries and structures are left rusting in the open after it was abandoned after World War II.Feredo, Tony. Visit to a Nearby Island . Corregidor.org. Retrieved on 2010-09-20.
See also
*
List of islands in the Greater Manila Area
This is a list of islands in the Greater Manila Area in the Philippines.
There are several small islands located within the Greater Manila Area, particularly along the coast of Manila Bay, both natural and artificial island, artificial. Many of ...
*
List of islands of the Philippines
The islands of the Philippines, also known as the Philippine Archipelago, comprises about 7,641 islands, of which only about 2,000 are inhabited.Manila Bay
Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phi ...