Flag and coat of arms of the Philippines. Click on the image to zoom.
English: Republic of the Philippines, the name derives from the Spanish King Philip II from) are in the western Pacific and Southeast Asia belong to. The South China Sea separates the islands from Vietnam in the west, Celebessee of Indonesia in the south. The archipelago, which is 5 to 21 degrees north latitude and 117 to 126 degrees east longitude, is the fifth largest island nation in the world after Indonesia, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea and Japan.
The Philippines (officially Republic of the Philippines, Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas;
The Philippines consist of 7,107 islands, of which only about 880 are inhabited. Only eleven islands have an area of more than 2,500 square kilometers, the largest are Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Negros, Mindoro, Panay and Palawan, only 1,000 are greater than 1 km ².
The archipelago is divided into three island groups: Luzon with the island Luzon, the Visayas, including the islands of Palawan, Negros, Cebu, Leyte, Samar, Masbate and Bohol and Mindanao as the third group, consisting of, inter alia, the island of Mindanao, Basilan and the Sulu Archipelago with the island of Jolo.
At the heart of the islands are the tops of emergent above sea submarine mountain chains, on the boundary of two continental plates, the Philippine and Eurasian. Wide-view, the Philippines part of the Pacific ring of fire earthquakes and volcanic activity as a frequent side-effects of this situation at the plate boundary. There are currently about 20 active volcanoes, of which the Pinatubo and Mayon - both located on Luzon - in recent years showed specific activity. The highest peak of the Philippines is MountApo. East of the island group is the Philippines trench with a depth of up to 10,540 ft is one of the largest deep-sea trenches of the earth. As a result of massive earthquake could flood waves, tsunamis, arise.
The climate of the Philippines is mainly by the proximity of the oceans, no place is more than 200 km from the coast. The situation of the islands in the tropical low latitudes and the influence of the surrounding seas bring a very balanced year round temperature of 26 ° C with only minor fluctuations. Most rainfall is associated with the southwest monsoon, especially in the period May-November. On the west coast (Manila) brings the northeast monsoon, little rainfall, while on the east coast (Davao) all year round humid climate. Because of the predominantly North-South direction of the mountains fall on the west side of the island group significantly less rainfall than the east. From August to October are often typhoons over the center and north of the Philippines from 1945 to 2000 were the Philippines of 349 typhoons crossed or stripes.
Flora and fauna
Philippine Koboldmaki
In the Philippines there are over 5,000 different animals and countless species of insects as well as 14,000 different plants. Among them are also water buffalo (Carabao), parrots, flying squirrels, dolphins, crocodiles, snakes, Koboldmakis, Manabo, turtles, lizards and others. Only in the Philippines is the widespread Philippinenente, a kind of mallard ducks from the group.
Supposedly, the Philippine fauna of Indonesia are very similar. There are on the Philippine island of Calauit, northwest of Busuanga since 1976 including a private, commercial nature reserve (Open Zoo) with 70 giraffes and many other African animals such as zebras and impala. The island belongs to the district of Palawan and you can be there as in Africa on "Safari" go.
In the sea, which surrounds many islands, there are still many with their brightly colored coral fish. The coral bleaching, the Philippines has so far largely spared, and is only sporadically occurred.
Environmental Protection
With over 7000 islands of the Philippines is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. But the population is growing very rapidly and as of the settlement pressure leads to the depletion of natural resources. The state of the Philippine environment has deteriorated so much that the government responded by demanding environmental laws responded. These laws aim to protect the rainforest as well as the sea with its coral reefs and fish. Even the air in the cities should be clean, just like the water and wastewater. In the case of the waste, the Philippines still face formidable problems. The enforcement of environmental laws is not yet assured. Geothermal Energy in the Philippines is already being used. Here, the island state a leading role in Southeast Asia is an.
Population
Philippino / Filipina, Filipino ownership or title Filipina (Spanish) and Pinoy or Pinay (Tagalog, slang). The total population according to the population census from the year 2007 at 88,574,614 inhabitants
The population is in the majority (95%) from ethnic groups that speak Austronesian.
