Leyte Gulf is a

gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

in the Eastern Visayan region 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 bay is part of the

Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its ...

of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, and is bounded by two islands;

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

in the north and

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 west. On the south of the bay is

Mindanao Island 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 t ...

, separated from Leyte by the Surigao Strait.

Dinagat Island Dinagat Island is an island located northeast of Mindanao in the Philippines. Until December 2006, it was part of the province of Surigao del Norte. Being its main island, almost all municipalities of the province of Dinagat Islands Dinagat ...

partly encloses the gulf to the southeast, and the small

Homonhon Island Homonhon Island is an island in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines, on the east side of Leyte Gulf. The long island is part of the municipality of Guiuan, encompassing eight barangays: Bitaugan, Cagusu-an, Canawayon, Casuguran, Culasi, ...

and

Suluan Island Suluan is an island barangay in the Philippines, in the municipality of Guiuan, Eastern Samar. It lies east of Leyte Gulf and west of Emden Deep. The inhabitants of the island were the first Filipinos to trade and interact with Ferdinand Magell ...

, sit astride the eastern entrance to the Gulf. It is approximately north-south, and east-west. Several municipalities are situated on the coast of the gulf: Balangiga,

Giporlos Giporlos (IPA: �hiˈporlɔs, officially the Municipality of Giporlos ( war, Bungto han Giporlos; tl, Bayan ng Giporlos), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populati ...

Guiuan Guiuan ( �giˌwan; war, Bungto han Guiuan, fil, Bayan ng Guiuan), officially the Municipality of Guiuan, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. It constitutes the southeastern extremity of Samar Island and ...

Lawaan Lawaan, officially the Municipality of Lawaan ( war, Bungto han Lawaan; tl, Bayan ng Lawaan), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 13,003 people. It is h ...

, Mercedes, Quinapondan and Salcedo. There are also eleven marine reserves in the gulf region.

History

Leyte Gulf was also the scene of the

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fou ...

, which extends to Surigao Strait during the

Battle of Surigao Strait The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fou ...

, the largest naval battle of

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 ...

and started the end of Japanese occupation in the Philippines. During

the gulf was part of a large US Navy base

Leyte-Samar Naval Base Leyte-Samar Naval Base was a large United States Navy base in the Philippines on the Islands of Leyte and Samar. The Base was built during World War II to support the many naval ships fighting and patrolling in the South West Pacific theatre of ...

. In 2013,

Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...

stirred up a

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

in Leyte Gulf, resulting in massive loss of lives, agricultural land and property along

's shores.

Fishing

Leyte Gulf is identified by the Leyte State University as one of the important fishing grounds of Leyte and Samar. Like other rich fishing grounds such as

Maqueda Bay Maqueda is a Spanish town located 80 kilometers from Madrid and 45 kilometers from Toledo, Spain, Toledo. Located within the autonomous community Castile-La Mancha, Castilla-La Mancha and the Toledo (province), province of Toledo, Maqueda is locat ...

and Carigara Bay, the gulf is known for abundant catches of anchovies, herring, shrimp and crabs. It was also once one of the richest sources of

mud crab Mud crab may refer to any crab that lives in or near mud, such as: *''Scylla serrata'' *''Scylla tranquebarica'' *''Scylla paramamosain'' *''Scylla olivacea'' *Members of the family Panopeidae, such as ''Panopeus herbstii'' *Members of the family ...

s in 1985. Fish harvest has been in decline in the gulf due to the use of

dynamite fishing Blast fishing, fish bombing, dynamite fishing or grenade fishing is a destructive fishing practice using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection. This often illegal practice is extremely destructive to the surrounding eco ...

has damaged the hard coral cover within the gulf's area, further reducing the fish harvest.

Gallery

Notes

{{Authority control Gulfs of the Philippines Landforms of Leyte (province) Landforms of Samar (province) Landforms of Eastern Samar