The Zambales Mountains is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

on western

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

island in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The mountains separate Luzon's central

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

from the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

. Its most prominent section is known as the Cabusilan Mountain Range composed of

Mount Pinatubo Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Zambales Mountains, located on the tripoint boundary of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga, all in Central Luzon on the northern island of Luzon. Its eruptive histor ...

Mount Negron ''Mount Negron'', also known as ''Negron Volcano'', is a mountain located on the border of Porac, Pampanga and San Marcelino, Zambales, Philippines at the Zambales Mountains in the region of Central Luzon. It has a height of 1,583 m (5,194& ...

and Mount Cuadrado, which are believed to be remnants of the ancestral Pinatubo peak. The highest elevation in the Zambales Mountains is

Mount Tapulao Mount Tapulao (also known as High Peak) is the highest mountain in the Zambales Mountain Range and in the province of Zambales in the Philippines. The peak, which rise to an elevation of above sea level, and it is located in the municipality of ...

, also known as High Peak, in

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

which rises to .

Extent

The Zambales Mountains has an area of extending North to South from the mountains of western Pangasinan province, the whole length of Zambales, to tip of the Bataan Peninsula in the south enclosing

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phi ...

.Smith, Warren D. (1913)
"Journal of Geology, Vol. 21 – The Geology of Luzon, P.I."
pp. 39–40. University of Chicago, Department of Geology. The mountain range also encompasses the mountains in the municipalities of Bamban,

Capas Capas, officially the Municipality of Capas ( pam, Balen ning Capas; tgl, Bayan ng Capas), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines, and one of the richest towns in the province. The town also consists of numerous su ...

, San Jose,

San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway between ...

, Mayantoc,

Santa Ignacia Santa Ignacia, officially the Municipality of Santa Ignacia ( pag, Baley na Santa Ignacia; ilo, Ili ti Santa Ignacia; tl, Bayan ng Santa Ignacia), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. Santa Ignacia has a total land ...

Camiling Camiling, officially the Municipality of Camiling, ( pag, Baley na Camiling; ilo, Ili ti Camiling; tl, Bayan ng Camiling) is a 1st class municipality in the province of Tarlac in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populati ...

in the province of

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac ( pam, Lalawigan ning Tarlac; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Tarlac; ilo, Probinsia ti Tarlac; tgl, Lalawigan ng Tarlac; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. It ...

. In

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

, it includes the mountains in Floridablanca,

Porac Porac, officially the Municipality of Porac ( pam, Balen ning Porac; fil, Bayan ng Porac), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 140,751 people. The Subic–Cl ...

Lubao Lubao, officially the Municipality of Lubao ( pam, Balen ning Lubao; fil, Bayan ng Lubao), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 173,502 people. It is noted f ...

Angeles City , anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn) , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Settled , established_date = 1796 , established_title1 = Chartere ...

and

Mabalacat Mabalacat, officially the City of Mabalacat ( pam, Lakanbalen ning Mabalacat; fil, Lungsod ng Mabalacat), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 293,244 people ...

Geology

The Zambales Mountains include

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

ophiolite An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed above sea level and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is found ...

massifs, overlain by more recent sedimentary formation, including the Cagaluan Formation and the Santa Cruz Formation.

Volcanoes

Although the mountains are volcanic in origin,

is the only active volcano in the mountain range. Its eruption on June 15, 1991 was the second most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century after the 1912 eruption of

Novarupta Novarupta (meaning "newly erupted" in Latin) is a volcano that was formed in 1912, located on the Alaska Peninsula on a slope of Trident Volcano in Katmai National Park and Preserve, about southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage. Formed durin ...

in Alaska. The volcanic eruption, which was complicated by the arrival of Typhoon Yunya, covered the region with thick

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...

and lahar including the U.S. military base at Clark Field near

. Other volcanoes in Zambales Mountains are

Mount Mariveles Mount Mariveles is a dormant stratovolcano and the highest point in the province of Bataan in the Philippines. Mariveles and the adjacent Mount Natib comprise 80.9 percent of the total land area of the province.Redpen (2008-01-24)"Bataan Mountai ...

Mount Natib Mount Natib is a dormant stratovolcano and caldera complex in the province of Bataan on western Luzon Island of the Philippines. The volcano complex occupies the northern portion of the Bataan Peninsula. The mountain and adjacent surrounding i ...

and

Mount Samat Mount Samat () is a mountain in the town of Pilar, Bataan, Philippines. Located near its summit is the Mount Samat National Shrine, a national shrine dedicated to the fallen Filipino and American fallen during World War II. Geology Mount Samat ...

Protected areas

Bataan National Park Bataan National Park is a List of protected areas of the Philippines, protected area of the Philippines located in the mountainous interior of Bataan province in the Central Luzon Region. The park straddles the northern half of Bataan Peninsula n ...

Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape The Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape is a protected area containing natural hot springs in the Ilocos Region of the Philippines. It is one of 34 protected landscapes in the Philippines located in the municipality of Mangatarem, Pangasinan i ...

Roosevelt Protected Landscape The Roosevelt Protected Landscape, also known as ''Roosevelt Park'', is a protected area in the Central Luzon region in the Philippines. It occupies an area of of grasslands and old-growth forest in northern Bataan province near Olongapo and th ...

Peaks

Zambales Mountains list of highest peaks by elevation

* Mount Iba 5,430 ft (1,655 m) *

* Mount Cuadrado * Mount McDonald *

Mount Limay Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

* Mount Dorst *

* Mount Gates

River System

List of rivers in Zambales Mountains by length. * Tarlac River * Camiling River * Bucao River * Santo Tomas River

References

{{Commons category Mountain ranges of the Philippines Landforms of Zambales