Tawitawi Island (also spelled Tawi Tawi or Tawi-Tawi) is a Philippine island in the
Sulu Archipelago between the
Sulu Sea
The Sulu Sea ( fil, Dagat Sulu; Tausug: ''Dagat sin Sūg''; Chavacano: ''Mar de Sulu''; Cebuano: ''Dagat sa Sulu''; Hiligaynon: ''Dagat sang Sulu''; Karay-a: ''Dagat kang Sulu''; Cuyonon: ''Dagat i'ang Sulu''; ms, Laut Sulu) is a body o ...
and
Celebes Sea
The Celebes Sea, (; ms, Laut Sulawesi, id, Laut Sulawesi, fil, Dagat Selebes) or Sulawesi Sea, of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by ...
, about east of
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
.
It is the main island of
Tawi-Tawi
Tawi-Tawi, officially the Province of Tawi-Tawi ( tl, Lalawigan ng Tawi-Tawi; Tausug: ''Wilaya' sin Tawi-Tawi''; Sinama: ''Jawi Jawi/Jauih Jauih''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim M ...
Province.
Tawitawi has an area of , making it the
21st largest island of the Philippines, and the 3rd largest island in the Sulu Archipelago (after
Basilan
Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan ( cbk, Provincia de Basilan; yka, Wilayah Basilanin; tsg, Wilaya' sin Basilan; fil, Lalawigan ng Basilan), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Reg ...
and
Jolo
Jolo ( tsg, Sūg) is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has ...
). It has a shoreline length of , and a maximum elevation of .
Tawitawi Island is of volcanic origin and irregular in shape, about long and between wide. It is hilly and heavily wooded, with splashes of white sandy beaches and rock-bound coasts.
[
The island is subdivided into 4 municipalities (]Bongao
Bongao, officially the Municipality of Bongao, is a 2nd class municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 116,118 ...
, Languyan
Languyan, officially the Municipality of Languyan ( tl, Bayan ng Languyan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,096 people.
Geography
Barangays
Languyan ...
, Panglima Sugala
Panglima Sugala, officially the Municipality of Panglima Sugala, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,055 people.
It is formerly known as Balimbing. , and Tandubas
Tandubas, officially the Municipality of Tandubas ( tl, Bayan ng Tandubas), is a 2nd class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popul ...
). The inhabitants are mostly Sama people
The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...
, speaking Sama–Bajaw languages
The Sama–Bajaw languages are a well established group of languages spoken by the Sama-Bajau peoples of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. They are mainly spoken on Borneo and the Sulu Archipelago between Borneo and Mindanao.
Languages ...
and of Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
conviction.[
]
References
External links
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{{Authority control
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Sulu Archipelago