Taal Lake ( tl, Lawa ng Taal, ), formerly known as Bombón Lake, is a
freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
caldera lake
A volcanic crater lake is a lake in a crater that was formed by explosive activity or a collapse during a volcanic eruption.
Formation
Lakes in calderas fill large craters formed by the collapse of a volcano during an eruption. Lakes in maars ...
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 ...
of
Batangas
Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...
, 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 ...
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 fills
Taal Volcano, a large volcanic
caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
formed by very large
eruptions
Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...
between 500,000 and 100,000 years ago.
It is the country's
third-largest lake, after
Laguna de Bay
Laguna de Bay (Spanish language, Spanish for "Lagoon/Lake of Bay, Laguna, Bay"; tl, Lawa ng Bay, ), also known as Laguna Lake, is the List of lakes of the Philippines, largest lake in the Philippines. It is located southeast of Metro Manila, b ...
and
Lake Lanao
Lake Lanao (Maranao: ''Ranao'' or ''Ranaw'') is a large ancient lake in the province of Lanao del Sur, Philippines. With a surface area of , it is the largest lake in Mindanao, and the second largest lake in the Philippines and counted as one of ...
. Volcano Island, the location of Taal Volcano's historical eruptions and responsible for the lake's sulfuric content, lies near the center of the lake.
Up until the
2020 eruption of Taal Volcano there was a
crater lake
Crater Lake (Klamath language, Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The ...
on Volcano Island. It was known as Yellow Lake and Main Crater Lake and contained its own small island, Vulcan Point. Vulcan Point was thought to be one of few
third-order islands in the world.
Protected area and management
The Taal Lake basin was first declared as a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
, known as the Taal Volcano National Park, by Proclamation No. 235 on July 22, 1967, covering .
Under Republic Act No. 7586, or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992, the area was reestablished as the Taal Volcano Protected Landscape by Proclamation No. 906 on October 16, 1996. The protected area is managed by a Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) and has a Chief Operating Officer called a Protected Area Superintendent. A Management Plan was crafted and approved by the PAMB in 2009 and now serves as the blueprint for lake conservation.
History
Taal Lake was once an
inlet
An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea.
Overview
In marine geogra ...
of nearby
Balayan Bay
Balayan Bay is a large bay of Luzon Island in the Philippines. It is part of the Verde Island Passage and its entire shore is in the province of Batangas. The bay is between wide. It is separated from the South China Sea to the west by the Calata ...
, and was easily navigable from it. A series of major eruptions in the early 18th century battered the lakeside towns with earthquakes and volcanic debris. The activity culminated in 1754 with Taal Volcano's
largest eruption that blocked
Pansipit River
The Pansipit River is a short river located in the Batangas province of the Philippines. The river is the sole drainage outlet of Taal Lake, which empties to Balayan Bay. The river stretches some passing along the municipalities of Agoncillo, ...
with
tephra
Tephra is fragmental material produced by a volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism.
Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, they rem ...
, blocking the lake's sole outlet to the sea. This caused the waters to rise, eventually submerging several lakeside towns – the remnants of which are reportedly visible underwater to this day. Since the 1754 eruption, the surface elevation had risen from sea level to above sea level, with the lake's once
saline water
Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...
s becoming freshwater after centuries of precipitation.
The ''
poblacion
''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippines, Philippi ...
es'' (town centres) of Lipa, Taal, Sala, Bauan, and Tanauan were abandoned and reestablished several kilometers away from the lakeshore after volcanic activity had subsided. Over a century hence, newer settlements along the lakeshore were carved from the larger towns:
Talisay (established 1869, from
Taal),
Cuenca (1877, from
San José),
Alitagtag
Alitagtag, officially the Municipality of Alitagtag ( tgl, Bayan ng Alitagtag), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 26,819 people.
Geography
According to ...
(1910, from
Bauan
Bauan, officially the Municipality of Bauan ( tgl, Bayan ng Bauan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 90,819 people.
History
Religious attribution and mi ...
),
Mataasnakahoy
Mataasnakahoy, officially the Municipality of Mataasnakahoy ( tgl, Bayan ng Mataasnakahoy), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 30,621 people.
Mataasnakah ...
(1932, from
Lipa
Lipa or LIPA (Cyrillic: Липа) may refer to:
Acronym
*Liquid Isopropyl alcohol
*League for Independent Political Action, a former American progressive political organization
*Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a performing arts school in ...
),
Agoncillo (1949, from
Lemery),
San Nicolas (1955, over the ruins of old Taal),
Laurel
Laurel may refer to:
Plants
* Lauraceae, the laurel family
* Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel
People
* Laurel (given name), people with the given name
* Laurel (surname), people with the surname
* Laurel (mus ...
(1961, from Talisay),
Santa Teresita (1961, from Taal, San Luis, and San Nicolas) and
Balete (1969, from Lipa).
Ecology
As the lake was previously connected to the sea, it is home to many
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
species that have evolved and adapted to the desalination of the lake's waters. The lake has a freshwater-adapted population of
trevally
The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the only famil ...
, ''
Caranx ignobilis''. This fish, also found in Pansipit River, is locally called ''
maliputo''. Its most popular endemic species is the
overharvested
Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term ap ...
''
Sardinella tawilis
''Sardinella tawilis'' (the freshwater sardinella, freshwater herring, bombon sardine or freshwater sardine) is a freshwater sardine found exclusively in the Philippines. It is the only member of the genus ''Sardinella'' known to exist entirely ...
'', a freshwater sardine. The two other endemic fish species in Taal Lake are the gobies ''
Gnatholepis volcanus
''Gnatholepis'' is a genus of fish in the family goby, Gobiidae, the gobies. It is the only ocean, marine genus in the subfamily Gobionellinae, which otherwise includes mostly estuary-dwelling and freshwater fish. ''Gnatholepis'' are tropics, tro ...
'' and ''
Rhinogobius flavoventris''.
Taal Lake is also home to one of the world's rarest sea snakes, ''
Hydrophis semperi
''Hydrophis semperi'', commonly known as the Lake Taal snake, Garman's sea snake, the Philippine freshwater sea snake, and the Luzon sea snake, is a rare species of venomous sea snake found only in a single lake on the island of Luzon in the Ph ...
''. This particular species is only one of two "true" sea snake (
Hydrophiinae
Hydrophiinae is a subfamily of venomous snakes in the family Elapidae. It contains most sea snakes and many genera of venomous land snakes found in Australasia, such as the taipans (''Oxyuranus''), tiger snakes (''Notechis''), Pseudonaja, brown sn ...
) species that are known to live entirely in freshwater (the other is Hydrophis sibauensis from the Sibua River, Borneo, Indonesia ).
Bull shark
The bull shark (''Carcharhinus leucas''), also known as the Zambezi shark (informally zambi) in Africa and Lake Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a species of requiem shark commonly found worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in riv ...
s, ''
Carcharhinus leucas
The bull shark (''Carcharhinus leucas''), also known as the Zambezi shark (informally zambi) in Africa and Lake Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a species of requiem shark commonly found worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in riv ...
'', used to be part of the lake's once-diverse ecosystem but were
extirpated
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
by the locals by the 1930s.
Introduction of a non-native fish
Jaguar guapote ''(
Parachromis managuensis
''Parachromis managuensis'' is a large species of cichlid native to freshwater habitats in Central America, where it is found from Honduras to Costa Rica. The binomial name refers to Lake Managua in Nicaragua, from which the holotype was obtained ...
)'', a predatory
piscivore
A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name ''piscivore'' is derived . Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evoluti ...
, a carnivorous fish that primarily eats other fishes, was found illegally introduced into the lake. The alien fish could proliferate in all areas of lake because of the abundant aquatic vegetation which they use for spawning and feeding, plenty of natural food, and favorable warm environment. Its presence could seriously affect the native fish population.
Fish kill
![Taal lake vicinity](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Taal_lake_vicinity.png)
On January 5, 2008, the
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
The Philippines' Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ( fil, Kawanihan ng Pangisdaan at Yamang-tubig, abbreviated as BFAR), is an agency of the Politics of the Philippines, Philippine government under the Department of Agriculture (Philippin ...
announced that a
fish kill
The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off, refers to a localized die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalized mortality of aquatic life.University of Florida. Gainesville, FL (2005) ''Plant Management in Fl ...
at Taal Lake (January 2 to 4) caused the 50 metric tons or
₱3.25-million ($79,268) loss of cultured
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 ...
in the villages of Leviste and Balakilong in
Laurel
Laurel may refer to:
Plants
* Lauraceae, the laurel family
* Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel
People
* Laurel (given name), people with the given name
* Laurel (surname), people with the surname
* Laurel (mus ...
and in Barangays Aya and Quiling in
Talisay. 6,000 maliputo fishes ($5,609) also died at Quiling.
Toxic
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...
sulfur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
and high level of
hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The unde ...
in
Ambulong
Ambulong (also spelled Ambolon) is a small island in the Philippines located on the western side of the Ambolon Strait, that separates it from Ilin Island. Ambulong is located in Occidental Mindoro province of the Philippines, part of the municipa ...
while low dissolved
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
caused the deaths.
On May 30, 2011, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources announced a fish kill of 750 metric tons. According to the scientists, the onset of the rainy season brought a sudden drop on the water temperature, which lowered the oxygen levels on the lake.
Tourism
![Panorama of Lake Taal & Volcano, Philippines](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Panorama_of_Lake_Taal_%26_Volcano%2C_Philippines.jpg)
Regular tours of the lake are available to tourists. After crossing the lake, visitors travel to the top of Volcano Island on horseback. During their trip up and down the mountain, visitors have views of the lake and its surroundings.
Tagaytay
Tagaytay, officially the City of Tagaytay ( fil, Lungsod ng Tagaytay), is a 2nd class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 85,330 people.
It is one of the country's most pop ...
in Cavite has benefited from Taal Lake and Taal Volcano, which is administered by neighboring province of
Batangas
Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...
. Many tourists have visited Tagaytay for a panoramic view of the lake and volcano.
In mid-2007, controversy ensued when the
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
firm ''Jung Ang Interventure'' was given clearance to build a health spa on
Volcano Island along the lake's edge. Over the course of the next few weeks, several government officials expressed their disapproval of the construction project.
On June 28, 2007, the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman, DENR or KKLY) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, developmen ...
(DENR) suspended the Korean firm's environmental clearance certificate, rendering them incapable of pursuing further construction on the island until they secure other necessary permits.
Because of the unpopular public reaction to the project, the Korean company's permit was permanently revoked by the DENR in early July 2007.
[Andraneda, Katherine (July 6, 2007)]
"DENR cancels Taal spa permit"
. Philippine Headline News Online. Retrieved on January 15, 2011.
See also
*
Laguna de Bay
Laguna de Bay (Spanish language, Spanish for "Lagoon/Lake of Bay, Laguna, Bay"; tl, Lawa ng Bay, ), also known as Laguna Lake, is the List of lakes of the Philippines, largest lake in the Philippines. It is located southeast of Metro Manila, b ...
*
Main Crater Lake
References
External links
*
Mysteries of Taal Author Thomas Hargrove talks about the 1754 eruption that changed Taal Lake.
Guide to Taal Lake from Philippine Journeys.
{{Calabarzon attractions
Lakes of the Philippines
Calderas of Southeast Asia
Volcanic crater lakes
Landforms of Batangas
Tourist attractions in Batangas