| Cordillera Central | |
|---|---|
 The southern limits of the range as viewed from the plains ofNatividad, Pangasinan | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Mount Pulag |
| Elevation | 2,928[1] m (9,606 ft) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 320 km (200 mi) north-south |
| Width | 118 km (73 mi) east-west |
| Area | 22,500 km2 (8,700 mi2) |
| Geography | |
.svg)  Cordillera Central .svg) Cordillera Central | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Provinces | |
| Range coordinates | 17°20′N120°57′E / 17.333°N 120.950°E /17.333; 120.950 |
TheCordillera Central orCordillera Range is a massive mountain range 320 kilometres (200 mi) long north–south and 118 kilometres (73 mi) east-west situated in the north-central part of the island ofLuzon, in thePhilippines. The mountain range encompasses all provinces of theCordillera Administrative Region (Abra,Apayao,Benguet,Ifugao,Kalinga andMountain Province), as well as portions of easternIlocos Norte, easternIlocos Sur, easternLa Union, northeasternPangasinan, westernNueva Vizcaya, and westernCagayan.
To the north, the mountain range terminates at the northern shores of Luzon along theBabuyan Channel in Ilocos Norte and Cagayan provinces.[2] At its southeastern part, the Central Cordillera is linked to theSierra Madre Mountains, the longest mountain range in the country, through theCaraballo Mountains inNueva Vizcaya province. DuringSpanish colonial period, the whole range was calledNueva Provincia (New Province).[3]
The Cordillera Central is the highest mountain range in the Philippines. It comprises about 1/6 of the whole Luzon island with a total area of 22,500 km2 (8,700 sq mi). The highest mountain in the range,Mount Pulag, is also the highest mountain in Luzon at 2,928 metres (9,606 ft).[1] It is officially the third highest mountain in the country afterMount Dulang-dulang andMount Apo onMindanao Island, the second largest island of the Philippines.
The mountain range separates theIlocos plains on the west and theCagayan Valley on the east. It also affects the weather pattern in the island of Luzon in such it acts as a barrier against the Northeast and Southwest monsoons as well as cyclones crossing the island.
This is the biggest and highest mountain chain in the Philippines, measuring 320 km (200 mi) long north to south, and 118 km (73 mi) width east to west, and consists of three ranges.[4] The Malayan Range is located in the northern and western portion of the Cordillera, followed by the Central Range, and then the Polis Range in the eastern portion.Mount Data contains the headwaters for Suyoc, which flows into theAbra River, the Chico flows into theCagayan River, the Asin flows into theMagat River, and theAgno River flows intoLingayen Gulf.[5]
List of Peaks in Cordillera by elevation.
Three volcanoes with no historical eruptions but still thermally active are located within the Cordillera Central:
List of waterfalls in Cordillera:
The mountains support a number of different types of habitat. Elevations above 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) are covered inLuzon tropical pine forests of Benguet pine (Pinus insularis) except in the north of the range where the high slopes consist ofLuzon montane rain forests. Elevations below 1000 meters are in theLuzon rain forests ecoregion.
Two major problems threaten the environment of the Cordillera: dam projects flood river valleys and remove habitat and also cause people to flee their houses and seek refuge in other areas; mining project destroy forest areas and also don't create wealth and resources for the upkeep of the tribal lands.[6]
Most of the Cordillera Central is the ancestral domain of the 'people of the mountains.' These ethno-linguistic groups include: Abra (Itneg), Apayao (Apayao), Benguet (Kankanaey and Ibaloi), Ifugao (Ifugao), Kalinga (Kalinga) and Mountain Province (Bontoc and Kankanaey).[7] Each of these major ethno-linguistic groups has its own family of languages and cultures.
An alternative listing for the Northern Philippine tribes is: Apayao/Isnag, Abra/Tinguian, Kalinga, Gaddang, Applai, Bontoc, Bago, I-lagod, Kankana-ey, Kangkanai, Balangao, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Ikalahan, Kalanguya, Karao and Ilongot.
Beside their own tribal cultures, there is a Cordilleran culture which is largely molded by the geography of the Cordilleras, and their common heritage of resisting the invading imperial powers (Spain, United States, and Japan in the past – and after 1946 the central government in Manila is also regarded as such), including the continuing adverse encroachments by lowlanders.[7]
The Cordillera Central is one of the country's richest regions in terms of natural resources, a major resource base of the Philippines. It contains 11% of the total area is agricultural rice fields, orchards, pig farms and pasture lands. 60% of the country's temperate vegetables are produced in the area. It is the country's premier mining district. There are eight big mining companies operating which are mostly foreign controlled. Some 80% of the total Philippine gold production comes from theCordillera.
The range is also home to the headwaters of the major rivers in NorthernLuzon, with several dams which include theAmbuklao andBinga in Benguet.
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(October 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Philippines was already of interest to Spain before the Spaniards even reached the land. In 1565, reports of hugegold mines in the Cordillera reached theViceroy of Mexico, which led to the first official Spanish expedition to the Cordillera in 1576. KingPhilip III, waging theThirty Year War which needed funding, sent orders for large expeditions to the Philippines.[8]
In 1620, Captain Garcia de Aldana Cabrera offered the resistingIgorot tribal leadersclemency if they were willing to acceptCatholic religion, obey the Spanish government and pay a fifth of all their mined gold to the Spanish king. They refused and the Spanish conquerors built forts and organized military troops to start the exploitation of the gold mines.
During the years that followed, the Spanish managed to trade gold despite setbacks from the Igorots, who because of their resistance remained relatively independent from Spanish rule. The price that the Igorots had to pay for this independence was that they became different from their colonized brothers.
The Philippines staged Asia's first nationalistic revolution in 1896, and declared its independence on June 12, 1898. The newly founded country was soon taken over by the United States of America. The US was the first foreign nation to fully invade the highlands of the Cordillera to push the mining operations in the territory.[9]
Spain relinquished control of the Philippines to the United States of America due to theTreaty of Paris of 1898, which officially ended the hostilities of theSpanish–American War. After a short period of peace in the region after the treaty was finalized thePhilippine–American War began until 1902, though pockets of fighting did not end until 1913. The result of these conflicts led to the US declaring the Philippines aprotectorate, a form ofcolonialism with local autonomy. The United States established strategic military bases in the Philippines with the consent of the established government in Manila. DuringWorld War II, the Japanese temporarily seized control of the Philippines. A combined effort between the American armed forces and the Philippine commonwealth military managed to successfully drive out the Japanese by 1945.
On September 27, 1927, the Benguet Consolidated Mining Company discovered one of the richest veins of gold ever, at a time when the US was entering theGreat Depression. This was the start of a real gold rush into Cordillera region: in 1929, there were 94 mining companies, by 1933 there were 17,812.[10]
This extreme growth had tremendous results for the landscape; it changed the original one way Mountain Trail into a busy highway despite the road slides and cuts that occur up to this day. Again, similar to the fight against the Spanish, the indigenous inhabitants protested against the destruction of their land and the neglecting of their rights. Mining operations continued to grow and by 1939 the Philippines ranked among the world's leading gold producers, and second to the state ofCalifornia among US producers.
From 1936 to 1946, the Philippines was granted domestic self-administration under the Commonwealth of the Philippines as a transitional period for complete independence. From 1941 to 1945, the country fell under Japanese rule and was liberated by military forces of the United States of America, and dare inside by the combined forces of the Allied Philippine Commonwealth military forces and local Igorot and Cordilleran guerrilla forces in Northern Luzon. The US subsequently recognized Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.
The independent republic's policy shifted towards the integration of the 'cultural minorities' into mainstream culture. In 1966 the Philippine Congress passed the 'Separation Bill', dividing the old Mountain Province into four: Benguet, Mountain Province (Bontoc), Ifugao and Kalinga-Apayao. The political elite hoped that the creation of several provinces would, by increasing the region's representation, increase development spending in the area.
Under the Marcos' administration, politicization of the Cordillera took a new turn. National government development projects in the area were against the interests of the indigenous peoples, and were strongly resisted by them. Particularly important were the Chico River Dam project and the Cellophil project. The first threatened to inundate traditional villages, the second gave outsiders control over vast forest lands. Resistance resulted in increased regional consciousness rather than local ethnic consciousness.
In 1986 the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown by the People Power Revolution of the Philippines and he was succeeded by Corazon Aquino.
However, the Aquino administration failed to tackle substantial issues such as land reform and the restructuring of the economy. After the collapse of the negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF), Aquino declared the "Total War Policy", aimed at recovering New People's Army (NPA) controlled areas and to destroy the NPA's organizational and infrastructure base. The NPA had moved into the Cordillera to assist in the resistance against the projects.
The Giant bushy-tailed cloud rat (Crateromys schadenbergi),[11] Large-toothed hairy-tailed rat (Batomys dentatus), and Cordillera hairy-tailed rat (Batomys granti) are species of large rodent endemic to Central Cordillera Range in Luzon, Philippines.
_-16.jpg)
Media related toCordillera Central (Luzon) at Wikimedia Commons
