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Mount Isarog is an active
stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and peri ...
located in the province of
Camarines Sur, Philippines Camarines Sur ( bcl, Habagatan na Camarines; tl, Timog Camarines), officially the Province of Camarines Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte a ...
, on the island of
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
. The mountain has active
fumaroles A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcan ...
and
hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
. It has an elevation of above mean sea level. The broad isthmus between Lagonoy Gulf and San Miguel Bay is occupied by the isolated Mount Isarog volcano. The volcano has a 2,500 m (8202 ft) crater that is breached to the east along a narrow valley drained by the Cabongaan water stream. A major debris avalanche deposit extends northwest to the coast and into San Miguel Bay. The peak of the mountain marks the point where the borders of six municipalities and one
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
meet (listed in clockwise direction, starting north): Goa, Tigaon, Ocampo,
Pili Pili may refer to: Common names of plants * '' Canarium ovatum'', a Philippine tree that is a source of the pili nut * ''Heteropogon contortus'', a Hawaiian grass used to thatch structures Places * Pili, Camarines Sur, is a municipality in the ...
, Naga City, Tinambac and Calabanga. Mount Isarog was where local troops of the Philippine Army and Constabulary units and Bicolano guerrillas hid during the Japanese Occupation. In the 1970s, with the leadership of Romulo Jallores and his brother, they established the New People's Army in the Bicol region at the foot of this mountain.


History


Indigenous history

Mount Isarog has been the ancestral territory of the indigenous Isarog
Agta people The Aeta (Ayta ), Agta, or Dumagat, are collective terms for several Filipino indigenous peoples who live in various parts of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They are considered to be part of the Negrito ethnic groups and share common ...
for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the Spanish. They are one of the first inhabitants in the entire Philippines and are of
Negrito The term Negrito () refers to several diverse ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Populations often described as Negrito include: the Andamanese peoples (including the Great Andamanese, the On ...
origin. They are a group of
Aeta people The Aeta (Ayta ), Agta, or Dumagat, are collective terms for several Filipino indigenous peoples who live in various parts of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They are considered to be part of the Negrito ethnic groups and share comm ...
with a distinct language and heritage unique from others.


Legal history

It was made a public land through the ''Proclamation No. 157'' on March 28, 2015. Towns around it is classified as timberland forest with an area of . On August 17, 1935, General Frank Murphy established the ''Mt. Isarog Forest Reserve'' which reduced the size of the area to 10,112. But it was revoked by President Manuel L. Quezon when he signed ''Proclamation No. 293'' titled "Establishment of Mt. Isarog as a National Park." The ''Earth Summit'' of 1992 prompted the creation of the National Integrated Protected Area Programme. A five-year (1995-2001) intervention plan was enacted. On June 20, 2002, by virtue of ''Proclamation No. 214'', Mt. Isarog became a protected area under the natural park.


Eruption history

Pyroclastic flows originating from lava dome collapses have occurred during the Holocene, one of which has a calibrated radiocarbon date of about 3,500 BCE. In 2020, a group of geologists from Partido State University discovered that Isarog also erupted around 4,300 years ago after a charcoal overlain by thick block-and-ash flow deposits was found. The charcoal was sent to the United States for radiocarbon dating. This new information about the eruptive history of Isarog was presented at the 2020 Virtual GeoCon, a convention of geologists organized by th
Geological Society of the Philippines
Currently, Isarog vent displays gas seepages, warm springs, and steaming vents.


Seismic history

On 8 November 1915, frequent earthquakes were felt on and around Isarog volcano, with some occasional noises. Landslides occurred on the slopes of Isarog volcano. The seismic swarm repeated itself 2 or 3 times at long intervals until 10 January 1916. The volcano was thickly wooded, even inside of the crater, and nobody observed any fumaroles.


Ethnic groups


Isarog Agta Tribe

The Isarog Agta people live within the circumference of Mount Isarog, though only 5 of them still know their indigenous language. They are one of the original Negrito settlers in the entire Philippines. They belong to the
Aeta people The Aeta (Ayta ), Agta, or Dumagat, are collective terms for several Filipino indigenous peoples who live in various parts of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They are considered to be part of the Negrito ethnic groups and share comm ...
classification, but have distinct language and belief systems unique to their own culture and heritage. In 2010,
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
released its 3rd world volume of Endangered Languages in the World, where 3 critically endangered languages were in the Philippines. One of these languages in the ''Isarog Agta'' language which has an estimated speaker of 5 people in the year 2000. The language was classified as ''Critically Endangered'', meaning the youngest speakers are grandparents and older, and they speak the language partially and infrequently and hardly pass the language to their children and grandchildren anymore. If the remaining 150 people do not pass their native language to the next generation of Isarog Agta people, their indigenous language will be extinct within a period of 1 to 2 decades.


Biodiversity

Mt. Isarog has a rich diversity. It displays four major types of natural habitat or vegetation: from the warm grassland and lowland forest to the wet and cool climate of montane forest. The lowland forest is noted for its tall canopy. The uppermost layer towers between 30–40 meters and sometimes even reach 60 meters. Many of these trees belong to the dipterocarp family. The second canopy layer (between 23–30 meters) has the sustain bamboos (Bambusa), arborescent palms (Calamus), climbing bamboo (Schizostacyum), climbing pandans (Freycinetia) and vascular epiphytes such as orchids and ferns. The grassland (''parang'') is dominated by cogon (''
Imperata cylindrica ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has also been intro ...
'') and ''talahib'' ('' Saccharum ovatum'') grasses. The topography and soil condition of the area limits the growth of trees, giving rise to the grassland. The montane forest has two-oken because layered canopy trees ranging from 12–25 meters with noticeable canopy gaps due to the absence of large trees. The mossy forest has a canopy with a small height of 2 to 6 meters only. The canopy is broken because of the high winds and steep terrain. It is inhabited by bamboo, pandan, orchids, ferns, pitcher plants and other
epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
s. Trees at this level are covered with moss.


Endemic

Isarog Shrew rat (''Rhynchomys isarogensis'') was first discovered in 1988 in Mount Isarog. Although it has no direct economic value, its presence in Mount Isarog is a barometer of wealth and management of its natural resources. It is now listed as endangered in the Red Data Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Mount Isarog is included as a protected area, home to endemic rodents ('' Archboldomys luzonensis'', ''
Chrotomys gonzalesi The Isarog striped shrew-rat or Mount Isarog striped rat (''Chrotomys gonzalesi'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, ...
'' and '' Rhynchomys isarogensis''), other endemic mammals, and 15 bird species endemic to Luzon. Isarog Cloud Frog was first described by scientists in 1997. In total, scientists have identified one and possibly three new frog species, 8 species of snakes, and 19 species of lizards. Mount Isarog also has the rare Mount Isarog Forest Skink ('' Sphenomorphus knollmanae'') that is endemic.


Gallery

View of Mt. Isarog from Naga Airport.jpg, View from
Pili, Camarines Sur Pili, officially the Municipality of Pili (, Rinconada Bikol: Banwaan ''ka Pili'', tgl, Bayan ng Pili) is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...
File:A view of Mt. Isarog 03.JPG, View from San Jose, Camarines Sur Mt Isarog viewed from Naga City.jpg, View from
Naga, Camarines Sur Naga, officially the City of Naga ( Central Bikol: ''Siyudad nin Naga''; Rinconada Bikol: ''Syudad ka Naga''; fil, Lungsod ng Naga) or the Pilgrim City of Naga, is a 1st class independent component city in the Bicol Region of the Philippine ...
Mount Isarog as seen from Minalabac.jpg, View from Minalabac, Camarines Sur Mount Isarog View at Antipolo Baao Camarines Sur.jpg, View from
Baao, Camarines Sur Baao, officially the Municipality of Baao (Rinconada Bikol: ''Banwāan ka Baao''; Tagalog: ''Bayan ng Baao)'' is 1st class municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 61,493 pe ...
Mount Isarog View from San Antonio Tinambac.jpg, View from Tinambac, Camarines Sur View of Mt. Isarog from Sagñay, Camarines Sur.jpg, View from Sagñay, Camarines Sur Mountain view 4.jpg, View from Ocampo, Camarines Sur


See also

*
List of active volcanoes in the Philippines This is a list of active volcanoes in the Philippines, as categorized by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). Volcanoes in the country have erupted within the last 600 years, with accounts of these eruptions documen ...
* List of potentially active volcanoes in the Philippines *
List of inactive volcanoes in the Philippines This is a list of inactive volcanoes in the Philippines. Volcanoes with no record of eruptions are considered as extinct or inactive. Their physical form since their last activity has been altered by agents of weathering and erosion with the ...
* List of protected areas of the Philippines * Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology *
Pacific ring of fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring ...


References


External links

*
Phivolcs' Mount Isarog page

"Mount Isarog, Philippines" on Peakbagger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isarog, Mount Mountains of the Philippines Volcanoes of Luzon Stratovolcanoes of the Philippines Mount Isarog Potentially active volcanoes of the Philippines Landforms of Camarines Sur Holocene stratovolcanoes