Candelaria, officially the Municipality of Candelaria, is a 3rd 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 ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

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 30,263 people.

History

During the pre-Spanish era, the area of Candelaria was unsettled forest. The Spanish East Indies government made it a

sitio A ''sitio'' (Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popu ...

of Masinloc, one of the oldest towns of Zambales. Sambal settlers from other parts of Masinloc, who found Candelaria an ideal location to live, played an important role in creating Candelaria as a separate town in 1870. The name of the town could have come from the name of the wife of the first ''Alcalde Mayor'', who named the town after her as a birthday gift. ''Candelaria'' is also the Spanish word for Candlemas, and that the Virgin of Candelaria is a Marian title popular in the Hispanic world.

Geography

Candelaria is from the capital town of Iba. It is nestled at the foot of the Zambales Mountains in the east and lies along coastline of the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Ph ...

in the west, with a total land area of , making it the third-largest town in terms of land area in Zambales. This municipality is known for Uacon Lake, the cleanest lake in

Central Luzon Central Luzon ( pam, (Reyun ning) Kalibudtarang Luzon, pag, (Rehiyon na) Pegley na Luzon, tgl, (Rehiyon ng) Gitnang Luzon, ilo, (Rehion/Deppaar ti) Tengnga ti Luzon), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...

, and for its numerous beach resorts.

Barangays

Candelaria is politically subdivided into 16

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 metropolita ...

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Candelaria, Zambales, was 30,263 people, with a density of .

Economy

References

External links

Candelaria Profile at PhilAtlas.com
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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 ...

br>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Zambales 1870 in the Philippines