The Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

containing natural

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 c ...

in the

Ilocos Region Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...

of the Philippines. It is one of 34 protected landscapes in the Philippines located in the municipality of

Mangatarem Mangatarem, officially the Municipality of Mangatarem ( pag, Baley na Mangatarem; ilo, Ili ti Mangatarem; tgl, Bayan ng Mangatarem), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a p ...

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its c ...

in the west-central area of 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, ...

History

It was originally established in 1934 as the Manleluag Spring Forest Reserve covering approximately through Proclamation No. 659 signed by Governor-General

Frank Murphy William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving ...

. The boundaries of the reserve were delineated with reference to an alibanbang tree which was in diameter at the time. In 1939, the adjoining public forest was added to the reserve and on 3 September 1940, through President

Manuel Luis Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina, (; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier and politician who served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his dea ...

's Proclamation No. 612, it was re-designated as a national park occupying an area of approximately . The park was converted into a protected landscape area in 2004 and now has a total area of and a buffer zone area of . It is one of only two protected areas in Pangasinan, the other being the

Hundred Islands National Park The Hundred Islands National Park is the first national park and a protected area located in Alaminos, Pangasinan in the northern Philippines. The islands, totaling 124 at low tide and 123 at high tide, are scattered in Lingayen Gulf The L ...

Description

Manleluag spring is a set of two

ophiolitic An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed above sea level and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is found ...

hot springs, near the -tall extinct volcano Mount Malabobo, and is located in the rural barangay of Malabobo in Mangatarem municipality, some north from

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

. It is part of the Mangatarem forest which straddles the provinces of Pangasinan,

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 ...

and

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac ( pam, Lalawigan ning Tarlac; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Tarlac; ilo, Probinsia ti Tarlac; tgl, Lalawigan ng Tarlac; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. I ...

in the

Zambales Mountain Range The Zambales Mountains is a mountain range on western Luzon island in the Philippines. The mountains separate Luzon's central plain from the South China Sea. Its most prominent section is known as the Cabusilan Mountain Range composed of Mount ...

. The area has low to rolling and moderately steep slopes with an average elevation of . The park is crossed by two rivers, the Baracbac and Basican rivers. Of the 1,935 hectares of the park's total area, 412.5 ha. are reserved for wildlife habitat, 539.46 ha. for sustainable uses, 57.34 ha. for multiple uses, 15.7 ha. for restoration, and 91.7 ha. for recreation. A series of pathways and foot trails provide access to areas around the park which is surrounded by patrol trails and fire lines in the buffer area for forest fire protection purposes.

Biodiversity

The protected landscape is an important biodiversity area. It is home to over 90 bird species, including the

Philippine frogmouth The Philippine frogmouth (''Batrachostomus septimus'') is a nocturnal bird that can be found throughout the Philippine archipelago. It is common in lowland forests and maturing second growth. There is little information about the bird. It feeds o ...

rufous hornbill The rufous hornbill (''Buceros hydrocorax''), also known as the Philippine hornbill and locally as kalaw (pronounced KAH-lau), is a large species of hornbill endemic to the Philippines (the largest hornbill in the country). The are referred by lo ...

Philippine hanging parrot The Philippine hanging parrot (''Loriculus philippensis''), also commonly known as the colasisiKennedy, R.S., Gonzales P.C., Dickinson E.C., Miranda, Jr, H.C., Fisher T.H. (2000) ''A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines'', Oxford University Pres ...

Philippine duck The Philippine duck (''Anas luzonica'') is a large dabbling duck of the genus ''Anas''. Its native name is ''papan''. It is endemic to the Philippines. It eats shrimp, fish, insects, and vegetation, and it frequents all types of wetlands. Tax ...

flame-breasted fruit dove The flame-breasted fruit dove (''Ptilinopus marchei'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Philippines only being found in the mountains of Luzon.This is a large dove reaching 42 cm long, being the largest fru ...

coleto The coleto (''Sarcops calvus'') is a starling species (family Sturnidae) in the monotypic genus ''Sarcops''. It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland for ...

malkoha Malkohas are large birds in the cuckoo family Cuculidae. The group name is derived from the Sinhala word for the red-faced malkoha; meaning flower-cuckoo. These are all tropical species. {, class="wikitable" , - ! Image !! Scientific ...

, and

ashy thrush The ashy thrush (''Geokichla cinerea''), also known as the ashy ground-thrush, is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is endemic to the Philippines in Luzon and Mindoro. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and or tr ...

. Its forest also supports the

Philippine deer The Philippine deer (''Rusa marianna''), also known as the Philippine sambar or Philippine brown deer, is a vulnerable deer species endemic to the Philippines. It was first described from introduced populations in the Mariana Islands, hence t ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

cloud rat The cloud rats or cloudrunners are a Tribe (biology), tribe (Phloeomyini) of arboreal and nocturnal herbivorous rodents endemic to the cloud forests of the Philippines. They belong to the family Muridae and include five genera: ''Batomys'' (hair ...

Philippine warty pig The Philippine warty pig (''Sus philippensis'') is one of four known species in the pig genus (''Sus'') endemic to the Philippines. The other three endemic species are the Visayan warty pig (''S. cebifrons''), Mindoro warty pig (''S. oliveri'') ...

, and reptiles like the

water monitor The Asian water monitor (''Varanus salvator'') is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the most common monitor lizards in Asia, ranging from coastal northeast India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, mainland Southeast ...

References

{{Protected areas in the Ilocos Region Protected landscapes of the Philippines Hot springs of the Philippines Geography of Pangasinan Landforms of Pangasinan Tourist attractions in Pangasinan Protected areas established in 1934 1934 establishments in the Philippines