1.
Leyte (province)
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Leyte is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region, occupying the northern three-quarters of Leyte Island. Its capital is the city of Tacloban, Leyte is situated west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran. To the west of Leyte across the Camotes Sea is the province of Cebu, Leyte is also known as the site of the largest naval battle in modern history, the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which took place during the Second World War. The island of Leyte was once the location of Mairete, meaning land of Ete, before being colonized by Spain, the island was once home to indigenous animist Warays to the East and other indigenous animist Visayan groups to the west. The Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, first came to the island in 1543, when the Spanish government established government in Cebu, Leyte and Samar became part of the province of Cebu. In 1595, the religious Jesuits established mission in Carigara which preceded the mission established in Palo in 1596 and Ormoc, in 1735, Leyte and Samar were separated from Cebu to be established as a single provincial government with Carigara as the first provincial capital. In 1768, Leyte and Samar were split into two separate provinces, on March 27,1923, Act No.3117 was proposed to divide Leyte into Occidental Leyte and Oriental Leyte but was not proclaimed by the Governor-General of the Philippines. On May 22,1959, Republic Act No.2227 was passed into law that separated the third Congressional District of Leyte into a province of Southern Leyte. The Battle of Leyte Gulf took place in the seas surrounding this island from 23 October to 26 October 1944, the First Battle of Leyte occurred on 20 October 1944. A successful Allied invasion of the island was the element to the eventual Filipino. Leyte covers a area of 6,313.33 square kilometres occupying the northern. The province is situated west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte, south of Biliran, Leyte comprises 40 municipalities and three cities, all clustered into 5 congressional districts. Ormoc City is an independent component city, while the capital Tacloban was declared a highly urbanized city in 2008, both cities govern themselves independently of the province and their residents do not vote for elective provincial officials. Baybay attained cityhood in 2007 but reverted to its status when the Supreme Court declared its city charter unconstitutional in 2008. It regained its city status following the reversal of the Supreme Court decision dated December 22,2009, in August 2010, however, a resolution had been passed reverting 16 cities, one of which was Baybay, to municipal status. It was on February 15,2011 that the Supreme Court reversed its decision once again, allowing Baybay, along with the other 16 cities, to retain their cityhood status. The population of Leyte in the 2015 census was 1,724,679 people, when Tacloban City is included for geographical purposes, the population is 1,966,768 people, with a density of 302/km2. The people of Leyte are divided into two groups, primarily by language
2.
Southeast Asia
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Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two regions, Mainland Southeast Asia, also known historically as Indochina, comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar. Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos Islands, definitions of Southeast Asia vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries listed below. All of the states are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea, Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia includes, Maritime Southeast Asia includes, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia, the eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor are considered to be biogeographically part of Oceania. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago, homo floresiensis also lived in the area up until 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor. Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BC to 1 AD. The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years and their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellans voyage records how much more manoeuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships, Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonisation of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome and this was later replaced by Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525, in the 15th century, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali, in Mainland Southeast Asia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture, very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century CE, Hinduism and Buddhism were the religions in Southeast Asia
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Visayas
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The Visayas /vᵻˈsaɪəz/ və-SY-əz or the Visayan Islands, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. It consists of islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea. Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayan people, the major islands of the Visayas are Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Samar. There are four regions in the Visayas, Western Visayas, Negros Island Region, Central Visayas. The term Visayas was derived from the name of the 7th-century thalassocratic Srivijaya Empire in Sumatra, in Sanskrit, sri means fortunate, prosperous, or happy and vijaya means victorious or excellence. Sulu Archipelago and the Visayas Islands were once Buddhist and Hindu and were subject states or tributaries of the empire. The early people in the Visayas region were the Austronesians and Negritos who migrated to the islands about 6,000 to 30,000 years ago and these early settlers were animist tribal groups. In the 12th century, settlers from the collapsing Hindu-Buddhist Srivijaya Empire led by Datu Putih and his retinue, settled in the island of Panay and it was also during the 12th century that Visayans are said to have made a series of raids along the coast of China. They were said to have a reputation, and the mention of their name would cause many to flee in terror. By the 14th century, Arab traders and their followers, venturing into Maritime Southeast Asia and these tribes practiced a mixture of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Animism beliefs. There is evidence of trade among other Asian people, the Visayas is subsequently home to several Prehispanic kingdoms like the Rajahnate of Cebu, the Kedatuan of Bohol and the Kedatuan of Madja-as. Among the archaeological proofs of the existence of this Hiligaynon nation are the found in pre-Hispanic tombs from many parts of the island. There are also recent discoveries of artifacts of eight-foot inhabitants of Isla de Gigantes, including extra-large Lungon. After the Magellan expedition, King Philip II of Spain sent Miguel López de Legazpi in 1543 and 1565, the Visayas region and many tribes began converting to Christianity and adopting western culture. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the effects of colonization on various ethnic groups soon turned sour, various personalities who fought against Spanish Colonial Government arose from the islands. Negros briefly had a state in the Visayas in the form of the Cantonal Republic of Negros before it was dissolved because of the American invasion of the Philippines, in 2005, Palawan Island was transferred to Region VI by Executive Order 429. However this planned reorganization was held in abeyance, hence, Palawan currently remains part of Region IV-B. The chiefs and followers were said to be the ancestors of the Visayan people, the documents were accepted by Filipino historians and found their way into the history of the Philippines
5.
Bohol Sea
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The Bohol Sea, also called the Mindanao Sea, is located between Visayas and Mindanao in the Philippines. It lies south of Bohol and Leyte and north of Mindanao, siquijor and Camiguin are its two major islands. The major cities on the sea are Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Butuan, Dumaguete, Ozamiz, the Bohol Sea is home to a large variety of premier scuba diving locations, dive charter boats, and hotels that cater to divers. Around the area of Tagbilaran and Balicasag Island there are numerous wall dives that range from 30 to 100 feet, water temperatures are very warm and most divers use a standard 3/2 shorty wetsuit to dive the location. Sea life is abundant and includes such attractions as clownfish, lionfish, barracuda, dolphins, huge coral formations, rorquals have been confirmed to return into Bohol Sea which is a rare trend in any Asian waters, and most notably Bohol regions host even blue whales. Media related to Bohol Sea at Wikimedia Commons
6.
Camotes Sea
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The Camotes Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Eastern Visayan and the Central Visayan regions. It is bordered by the islands of Leyte to the north and east, Bohol to the south, the sea is connected to the Visayan Sea to the northwest, and to the Bohol Sea to the south by the Canigao Channel and Cebu Strait. It contains the Camotes Islands and Mactan Island, the major cities of the area are Ormoc and Baybay in Leyte province, and Cebu City, Cebu
7.
Leyte Gulf
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Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, on the south of the bay is Mindanao Island, separated from Leyte by the Surigao Strait. Dinagat Island partly encloses the gulf to the southeast, and the small Homonhon Island and Suluan Island and it is approximately 130 km north-south, and 60 km east-west. Several municipalities are situated on the coast of the gulf, Balangiga, Giporlos, Guiuan, Lawaan, Mercedes, Quinapondan, there are also eleven marine reserves in the gulf region. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan stirred up a surge in Leyte Gulf, resulting to massive loss of lives, agricultural land. Leyte Gulf is identified by the Leyte State University as one of the important fishing grounds of Leyte, like other rich fishing grounds such as Maqueda Bay and Carigara Bay, the gulf is known for abundant catches of anchioves, herring, shrimp and crabs. It was also one of the richest sources of mud crabs in 1985. Fish harvest has been in decline in the due to the use of dynamite fishing. Typhoon Haiyan has damaged the hard coral cover within the gulfs area, further reducing the fish harvest
8.
Samar Sea
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The Samar Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Bicol Region of Luzon and the Eastern Visayas. It is bordered by the islands of Samar to the east, Leyte to the south, Masbate to the west and it contains Biliran Island, the islands of Almagro, Maripipi, Sto. The Samar Sea has experienced a significant degradation of marine resources, before 1981, there were 50 commercial fish species, but within 10 years, it was reduced to only 10 due to overfishing and destructive fishing methods. Average daily catch has reduced from 30 kg/day in the 1960s, to 8 kg/day in 1981, having depleted the large predatory fish, fishermen turned to smaller species, allowing jellyfish populations to explode. Deforestation of surrounding lands has led to increased silt from denuded mountains that choke coral reefs, only some 5% of reefs are considered to be in a healthy condition. Another result of the increased silt are red tides, causing paralytic shellfish poisonings, the first red tide in the Philippines occurred in the Samar Sea in 1983 and thereafter continued to occur at irregular intervals
Media related to Leyte (island) at Wikimedia Commons
Leyte Island travel guide from Wikivoyage
