Lake Danao is a guitar-shaped

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

on the island of

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

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 lake is covering an area of . It is situated in the

Lake Danao Natural Park A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

, which also includes the Amandiwin mountain range. The lake is northeast of

Ormoc Ormoc (IPA: �oɾˈmok, officially the City of Ormoc ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Ormoc; war, Syudad han Ormoc; fil, Lungsod ng Ormoc), is a 1st class independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

, half an hour drive along the San Pablo - Tongonan and Milagro - Lake Danao roads. It was originally named ''Lake Imelda'' and was declared a national park on June 2, 1972 by virtue of presidential memorandum issued by then President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martia ...

. Later it was renamed and declared as ''Lake Danao National Park'' on February 3, 1998 through ''Proclamation No. 1155'' and is now protected by ''Republic Act No. 7586'' otherwise known as the ''National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Act of 1992''. The lake supplies potable water to at least seven towns in Eastern Leyte including

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban ( war, Syudad han Tacloban; fil, Lungsod ng Tacloban), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The city is autonomous from the province of Leyte, ...

Leyte Samar Daily Express Online
Retrieved on 13 March 2009. as well as the source of irrigation for ricelands in some municipalities like Dagami,

Burauen Burauen (IPA: u'ɾaʊen, officially the Municipality of Burauen ( war, Bungto han Burauen; tl, Bayan ng Burauen), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 52,511 pe ...

Pastrana Pastrana may refer to: * Pastrana (musical) is a 1989 Australian musical by Allan McFadden and Peter Northwood. * Pastrana (surname) * Pastrana, Spain, a medieval town and municipality in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha * Pastrana, ...

and Tabontabon. At above sea level, Lake Danao lies on an altitude similar to Tagaytay, making the area cooler than the average Philippine temperature.

Origin

The lake is volcanic in origin and is probably a ''graben'' or depression produced by the

Philippine Fault The Philippine Fault System is a major inter-related system of geological fault (geology), faults throughout the whole of the Philippine Archipelago, primarily caused by tectonic forces compressing the Philippines into what geophysicists call the ...

(or Leyte Central Fault), an active fault traversing the lake area in a N-S direction. Rock formations of the surrounding mountains include andesitic volcanic rocks of Quaternary origin in the western side, andesitic and dacitic volcanics of

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

origin in the southeastern portion, and intermediate volcanic sediments of Quaternary origin in the northeastern side of the lake. There are wetlands found near the lake. The present lake could be the deepest portion of a much larger lake in the past. It was probably much larger in the geologic past and could have included the large wetlands and marshes. Sedimentation has probably transformed this portion of the lake into what it is today.

Threats

Various sectors of the local community had been studying the lake and its ecosystem. The major threat of avifaunal species in Lake Danao Natural Park is hunting. Key informants revealed that hunters are not only the local residents but many of them also come from other places. Birds that are mostly hunted are

hornbills Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a casque on the upper mand ...

, doves, and pigeons.

Slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

of forest for agricultural cultivation and

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

also has contributed to the degradation of some parts of the protected area. Establishment of human settlements within the park is also a serious threat. There have been recorded illegal settlements within the vicinity of the lake that could greatly affect its ecosystem.

References

External links

* Geographic data related t
Lake Danao (Leyte)
at

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a free, open geographic database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveys, trace from aerial imagery and also import from other freely licensed ...

{{Protected areas in Eastern Visayas Danao Natural parks of the Philippines Landforms of Leyte (province) Ormoc Inactive volcanoes of the Philippines

Origin

Threats

See also

References

External links