Cagayan River
The Cagayan River is the longest and largest river in the Philippines. The Cagayan Valley in Luzon is covered by the deep alluvium deposited by the river and its various tributaries, the main ones being the Chico, Ilagan, and Magat Rivers. Sediments of Tertiary and Quaternary origin, mostly limestone sands and clays blanketed the Cayagan Basin to deposits of 3,000 to 4,500 meters. The Cayagan Valley is one of the chief tobacco areas in the Philippines and also produces rice, corn, yams, bananas, and coconut. The river rises at an elevation of approximately 1,524 meters in the Caraballo Mountains of central Luzon, and flows north for some 446 kilometers to its mouth at Bubuyan Channel at the town of Aparri.
The river drops rapidly to 91 meters above sea level some 227 kilometers from the river mouth. Most of the larger tributaries of the Cagayan enter the valley from the cordilleran lands to the west of it. From the point where the river enters the valley, it flows north in broad meanders and acquires the major tributaries of the Magat and the Ilagan.
Both the Cagayan River and all its tributaries are subject to extensive flooding during the heavy rainfall that occurs during the monsoon and also the typhoon seasons. The Cagayan River has not been a major transport artery except for light barges, which can ascend the river for about sixty-five kilometers. Small craft often use the Cagayan.
Further Reading
Wernstedt, F. L., and J. E. Spencer. (1967) The Philippine Island World. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
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