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| Mount Melibengoy | |
|---|---|
 Lake Maughan or commonly known as Lake Holon (crater lake of Mount Melibengoy) | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,824 m (5,984 ft)[3] |
| Listing | Active volcano |
| Coordinates | 6°06′48″N124°53′30″E / 6.11333°N 124.89167°E /6.11333; 124.89167[1] |
| Geography | |
.svg)  Mount Melibengoy Location within the Philippines | |
 | |
| Location | Mindanao |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Soccsksargen |
| Province | South Cotabato |
| Municipality | Tboli |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | 1640 to 1641[1] |
Mount Melibengoy, formerly known asParker Volcano, is an active volcano onMindanao island in thePhilippines. It is located in the province ofSouth Cotabato, 30 km (19 mi) west ofGeneral Santos and 44 km (27 mi) south ofKoronadal City.
The volcano's English name is taken from an American, GeneralFrank Parker, who spotted the mountain and claimed to have "discovered" it during a flight he piloted in 1934. Parker led an expedition up to the lake in the mountain's crater with other US colonial and Filipino government officials, including Vice-Governor-General Joseph Ralston Hayden and Provincial Governor Gutierrez, in the fall of 1934.[4]
The elevation is given as 1,784 metres (5,853 ft) by some sources and as 1,824 metres (5,984 ft) by others.[3] Thevolcano has a base diameter of 40 kilometres (25 mi). It has a 2.9-kilometre (1.8 mi) wide caldera with steep walls that rise 200-500m above thelake that is now calledLake Maughan. The lake, which is commonly called Lake Holon, was named after another American who was with Parker when he crashed.
Melibengoy is considered one of the sacred places of theT'boli tribe. It hosts a rare species,Parantica dannattireyesi, a butterfly related to themonarch, which was discovered by the late Professor Josue de los Reyes ofNotre Dame of Marbel University and published in the entomological journal ofSenckerburg Research Institute in December 1994.
Government officials have also confirmed sightings of thePhilippine tarsier,Tarsius syrichta, which can supposedly be found in the barangays surrounding Lake Holon.
Mount Parker is believed to have erupted thrice over the past 3,800 years, the last one on January 4, 1641.[1] The 1641 eruption caused the formation of the crater lake.
On September 6, 1995, local officials reported what they believed was volcanic activity at Lake Maughan. The alleged activity caused landslides and flooding along Ga-o River that drains Lake Maughan and joins Allah River in the north. Due to this phenomenon, thePhilippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology installed monitoring equipment that established that the so-called activity was man-made.
Less than a year after the 1995 activity, a temporary dam was formed at about 250 m from the outlet of Lake Maughan, alarming the residents within the area due to fear of flash floods. The deposited debris dammed the flowing Ga-o River and caused the lake level to rise by about 6 m (20 ft).