Lake Sebu, officially the Municipality of Lake Sebu ( Tboli: ''Benwu Sbù'', ; Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Sëbu'' ; Tagalog: ''Bayan ng Sëbu''), is a 1st class

municipality 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 ...

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 ...

South Cotabato South Cotabato ( hil, Bagatnan Cotabato; ceb, Habagatang Cotabato; Maguindanaon: ''Pagabagatan Kutawatu'', Jawi: ڤاڬابڬتن كوتاواتو; tl, Timog Cotabato), officially the Province of South Cotabato, is a province in the Philippine ...

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 ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 81,221 people. The bestselling Lonely Planet described Lake Sebu as a place located in a “bowl of forests and mountains.” The 42,450-hectare landscape consisting the domains of the Allah Valley is recognized by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (

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 ...

) as a cultural landscape in Mindanao.

Geography

The placid lake of

Lake Sebu Lake Sebu ( Tboli: ''Lanaw Sbù'', ; Hiligaynon: ''Linaw sg Sëbu'', ; Filipino: ''Lawa ng Sëbu'') is a natural lake located in the municipality of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato within the Alah Valley region. The Philippine government has recogn ...

can be found in Allah Valley near the municipality of

Surallah, South Cotabato Surallah, officially the Municipality of Surallah (Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Surallah''; mdh, Inged nu Surallah, Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: ايڠايد نو سور الله), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipa ...

. Surrounded by rolling hills and mountains covered with thick rain forest, the lake has an area of , with an elevation of approximately .

Barangays

Flag_of_Lake_Sebu,_South_Cotabato_(variant)

Lake Sebu is politically subdivided into 19

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 metropolitan ...

Climate

Demographics

The lake's shores and the surrounding rainforest are home to the indigenous

T'boli The Tboli people () are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Philippines, indigenous peoples of South Cotabato in southern Mindanao. In the body of ethnographic and linguistic literature on Mindanao, their name is variously spelt Tboli, T'boli, ...

s, Tirurays, Ubos and

Manobo The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous people in the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally: "indigenous people"), the autonym officially adopte ...

s. One of the major tribes, the T'bolis are known for their weaving skills and brassware production as well as fishing skills. The rest of the population are made of Ilonggos,

Bicolanos The Bicolano people or the Bikolanos ( Bikol: ''Mga Bikolnon'') are the fourth-largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. Males are usually referred to as ''Bicolano'', and ''Bicolana'' is used for females. Their native region is commonly referred ...

and Ilocanos.

Economy

The economy is based on aquaculture of

Tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

grown in large fish cages floating in the lake. More than one half of the land around the lake is cultivated for agriculture. The Philippine government is also trying to promote

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

in the area. The finishing of a concrete road cut the travel time from 4 hours to less than 30 minutes greatly improving trade and commerce.

Wildlife

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

s and

Philippine Deer The Philippine deer (''Rusa marianna''), also known as the Philippine sambar or Philippine brown deer, is a vulnerable deer species endemic to the Philippines. It was first described from introduced populations in the Mariana Islands, hence t ...

which are considered endangered live around the lake. The lake and the surrounding rainforest are natural habitat to

egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

swallows The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

s, Philippine cockatoos and

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

Environmental conservation

The Philippine government proclaimed a area as a protected landscape. On the south-eastern watershed of the lake, a bamboo plantation was established.

References

External links

Lake Sebu Profile at PhilAtlas.com

Lake Sebu Profile at the DTI Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index
*

Philippine Standard Geographic Code 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 ...

Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of South Cotabato