Cagayan River, often called the Cagayan de Oro River, is one of the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s draining the northern central part of the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

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 ...

. The river has its headwaters in the Kalatungan Mountain Range and Kitanglad Mountain Range found in the central part of the province of Bukidnon. It traverses the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Talakag Talakag, officially the Municipality of Talakag ( Bukid and Higaonon: Banuwa ta Talakag; ceb, Lungsod sa Talakag; tl, Bayan ng Talakag), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has ...

Baungon Baungon, officially the Municipality of Baungon ( Bukid and Higaonon: Banuwa ta Baungon; ceb, Lungsod sa Baungon; tl, Bayan ng Baungon), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a ...

and

Libona Libona, officially the Municipality of Libona ( Bukid and Higaonon: Banuwa ta Libona; ceb, Lungsod sa Libona; tl, Bayan ng Libona), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popu ...

, connecting tributaries along the way. It finally empties into the

Macajalar Bay Macajalar Bay is a deep water bay of the Bohol Sea, located north of the province of Misamis Oriental on Mindanao Island, in the southern part of the Philippines. Cagayan de Oro City, being the regional center of Northern Mindanao (Region X), is l ...

Cagayan de Oro 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 ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Misamis Oriental Misamis Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Misamis; tl, Silangang Misamis), officially the Province of Misamis Oriental, is a province located in the region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Its capital, largest city and provincial center is th ...

. The river serves as the

natural boundary In complex analysis, a branch of mathematics, analytic continuation is a technique to extend the domain of definition of a given analytic function. Analytic continuation often succeeds in defining further values of a function, for example in a n ...

between the province of Bukidnon and Iligan and between Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro, based on the administrative order issued by the defunct Department of Mindanao and Sulu during the

American occupation of the Philippines American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. In Cagayan de Oro, it is the dividing line between its two

Congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

. The Cagayan River is a very popular site for whitewater rafting in the Philippines and has been promoted by the Department of Tourism as the main tourist attraction of Cagayan de Oro.

Etymology

The original name of the river is ''Kalambaguasasahan River'', because of the presence of ''Lambago'' trees (''

Hibiscus tiliaceus ''Hibiscus tiliaceus'', commonly known as the sea hibiscus or coast cottonwood, is a species of flowering tree in the mallow family, Malvaceae, with a pantropical distribution along coastlines. It has also been introduced to Florida and New Zea ...

'', a member of the ''

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

'' tree family that only thrives in low altitude areas like seashores, riverbanks and other areas reached by tidal streams) along the river banks. During the arrival of the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...

, the name was changed to Cagayan River. The name of the river ''Cagayan'' comes from the

Malayo-Polynesian The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. The Malayo-Polynesian languages are spoken by the Austronesian peoples outside of Taiwan, in the island nations of Southeast ...

word ''"Ag"'', which means water. ''"Kagay"'' means river and ''"Kagayan"'' is place with a river.

Geography

Course

The river's headwaters is found in the Kalatungan Mountain Range, in the central portion of the province of Bukidnon. It flows northward towards Cagayan de Oro for about "Principal River Basins of the Philippines", Published by the National Water Resources Board, October 1976 (p. 12) before emptying into the

Drainage Area

The river drains an area of approximately . About 80% of the drainage basin is located in the Province of Bukidnon and the rest is in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.

Tributaries

The main tributaries of the Cagayan de Oro River are the following: *

Kalawaig River The Kalawaig River is a river of the Philippines. It is a tributary of the Cagayan River The Cagayan River, also known as the Río Grande de Cagayán, is the longest river and the largest river by discharge volume of water in the Philippines. ...

* Tagite River *

Bubunaoan River The Bubunaoan River is a river of the Philippines. It is a tributary of the Cagayan River The Cagayan River, also known as the Río Grande de Cagayán, is the longest river and the largest river by discharge volume of water in the Philippines ...

* Tumalaong River

Mouth

The river's mouth is located in Cagayan de Oro. After a course from the mountains of Bukidnon, the river finally discharges its load to the

Tourism

Whitewater rafting and kayaking

Whitewater rafting,

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

and river trekking has been one of the tourism activities being promoted in the river. The city administration and the Department of Tourism made it as the banner tourism activity in

.Cagayan de Oro Tourism Website
/ref> The jump-off point of the river, whitewater rafting is at Barangay Mambuaya, a 30-40 minute ride from the city proper. Recently, whitewater rafting in the Cagayan River is gaining popularity through the years after President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...

and other famous personalities in the country have tried the challenging whitewater rafting in the river.

Fishery

The stream is an important seasonal freshwater artisanal fishery producing an annual catch, as of 2016, of about US$500,000 from an average weekly catch of by each fisherman. In the lower reaches of the stream, this low catch of smaller immature fish is evidence of lack of management of the fishery. Less than 1% to as much as 10% of the local population may be engaged at least part-time as fishermen, most are men. Full-time fishermen earn about US$1,000 to 2,000 per year, which is below the poverty line. Gill nets,

cast net A casting net, also called a throw net, is a net used for fishing. It is a circular net with small weights distributed around its edge. The net is cast or thrown by hand in such a manner that it spreads out while it's in the air before it sinks ...

s, long lines, fish hooks and

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

sets,

spears A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...

, traps and traditional fishing boats are used. The catch includes Snapper (Aha-an),

Flagtail The flagtails (' or ' in the Hawaiian language) are a family (Kuhliidae) of perciform fish of the Indo-Pacific area. The family consists of several species in one genus, ''Kuhlia''. Most are euryhaline and often found in brackish water, but th ...

(Aligaman),

Crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

(Alimango), Red-tailed goby (Anga), Squaretail mullet (Balanak), Goby (Batinga),

Silver perch Silver perch is a common name for several fishes and may refer to: *''Bairdiella chrysoura'', native to the east coast of the United States *''Bidyanus bidyanus'', endemic to Australia *''Leiopotherapon plumbeus ''Leiopotherapon plumbeus'', know ...

(Bugaong), Otomebora Mullet (Bunak), Indo-Pacific Tarpon (Buwan-buwan), Loach goby (Dalapakan), Mountain bass (Damagan), Indian pellona (Ibis), Flathead grey mullet (Gisaw), Gourami (Gurami),

Mudfish Mudfish most commonly refers to all species of ''Neochanna'', native to New Zealand and south-eastern Australia. Mudfish may also refer to: Fish * Bowfin (''Amia calva''), North America * ''Channa'' or snakehead, a genus of predatory fish in Asi ...

(Halu-an),

Shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

(Hipon, Goby (Iswil),

Carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

(Karpa), Eel (Kasili),

Spotted Scat ''Scatophagus argus'', the spotted scat, butterfish, mia mia, spotted butterfish or tiger scat, is a species of fish in the scat family Scatophagidae. It occurs in two basic color morphs which are called green scat and ruby or red scat. This fis ...

(Kikilo), Mullet (Muli),

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...

(Pait),

Catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

(Pantat),

Rock goby The rock goby (''Gobius paganellus'') is a small coastal goby of eastern Atlantic waters, from Scotland to Senegal.Miller P.J. (1986) Gobiidae. In: Whitehead P.J.P., Bauchot M.-L., Hureau J.-C., Nielsen J., Tortonese E. (eds.) Fishes of the North ...

(Pigok), Mangrove red snapper (Tadlungan), Tilapia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cagayan River (Cagayan de Oro) Rivers of the Philippines Landforms of Misamis Oriental Landforms of Bukidnon Tourist attractions in Cagayan de Oro