Many amazing places remain undiscovered for centuries. And you can find many of them in is the southern part of the Philippines, an archipelago full of treasures unknown to the world.
- Monkayo, Compostela, Davao del Norte, South Philippines
Monkayo is a vast agricultural land full of banana and rice. Mt. Diwata known as “Diwalwal” is a barangay in Monkayo, rich in gold ore deposits. According to the Philippine Bureau of Mines, gold in this area cannot be consumed even for a hundred years. It is 75 miles away from the city of Davao. Scenic attractions here are the Kumbilan Cave called Casoon. Its features are tunnel-like full of stalactites and stalagmites. The cave is also the home of snakes and fruit bats. To get there, you can easily rent a four-wheel drive vehicles from car rentals. Or if you have friends who have four-wheel drive vehicles, you can schedule a trip together so it will be less of a hassle on your part.
- Liguasan Marsh, Maguindanao, ARMM, South Philippines
The Liguasan Marsh stores an enormous natural reservoir of gas worth hundreds of billions of dollars. The American Engineers who conducted a test survey of the place estimated the value of oil to amount to $580 billion in its initial pumping.
Liguasan Marsh spans 220,000 hectares, which house a large variety of aquatic wildlife like three species of reptiles, 20 fish species, and 20 species of herons, waterfowl, ducks, and egrets. It is the only place where you can find the Comb-crested Jacana or Lotusbird (lily trotter bird), a very rare bird species.
The bird’s name is lily trotter because it walks on the water surface, leaping on water lilies or Lotus leaves. The wetlands or marsh is the last stronghold of the endangered Estuarine crocodile and is also the home of the Philippine Eagle, another endangered species.
- The Philippine Trench (Philippine Deep), Surigao, Caraga, South Philippines
The Philippine Deep (Philippine Trench) has a span of 1,320 kilometers, a width of about 30 kilometers, and a depth of 10,540 meters – the deepest point called the Galathea Deep. If Mt. Everest, which is 8,846 meters high, is submerged in the Philippine Trench, it would smoothly vanish in the trench.
Three miles deep of the Philippine Trench lies the world’s largest deposits of Deuterium (2H or Heavy Hydrogen). The Hydrogen Isotopes can work as a non-polluting energy source.
The Trench with Deuterium deposits lies within 200-miles Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) of southern Philippines by the International Sea Law. Therefore, to explore deuterium renders exclusivity to the Philippines.
- Sulu Sea, ARMM, South Philippines
The Sulu Sea is where the Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park, a World Heritage Site, is located. It includes small islands like the Turtle Islands. Billions of dollars of trade pass through this route every year.
It has been an international trade route of the world since the time of the Moors. The Moors were the first traders who came to Sulu centuries ago, and it is where the name Moro people was derived.
Some Japanese explorers made an initial survey in the Sulu Sea in the 1970s, and they discovered the area has large deposits of oil. Accordingly, the oil found in the Sulu Sea are the highest grade and supply could last for more than a hundred years.
Takeaway
The Southern Philippines has a lot of treasures and resources to offer to its peoples; the island abounds with wealth and riches. Although peace has become an issue in this part of the Philippine archipelago, there is still optimism that the current peace initiatives will succeed. No other country in Asia has this kind of enormous wealth, only the Philippines.
Author Bio
Williams A. Young is an expert mechanical engineer by profession but a camping and car enthusiast by heart. Despite of his hectic schedule, he always finds time to go to the woods and light a campfire. During his leisure time, he writes in behalf of Darwin4wdhire about the latest car models and its features and also about his recent camping experiences.
