The Roosevelt Protected Landscape, also known as ''Roosevelt Park'', is a protected area in the

Central Luzon Central Luzon ( pam, (Reyun ning) Kalibudtarang Luzon, pag, (Rehiyon na) Pegley na Luzon, tgl, (Rehiyon ng) Gitnang Luzon, ilo, (Rehion/Deppaar ti) Tengnga ti Luzon), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines, ...

region 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 ...

. It occupies an area of of grasslands and old-growth forest in northern

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...

province near

Olongapo Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo ( fil, Lungsod ng Olongapo; ilo, Siudad ti Olongapo; xsb, Siyodad nin Olongapo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales ...

and the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The park was established as Roosevelt National Park covering an area of on 30 March 1933 through Proclamation No. 567 signed by Governor-General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. In 1965, the national park was reduced to . On 23 April 2000, the park was reclassified as a protected landscape area and was further reduced to its present area of .

Location

The Roosevelt Protected Landscape area sits on a narrow valley at the foot of Mount Santa Rita and Mount Malasimbo in the Zambales Mountain Range at the border between the municipalities of Dinalupihan and Hermosa in Bataan. It spans the Dinalupihan villages of Roosevelt and Payangan, and the Hermosa village of Tipo just east of Subic Bay near the boundary with the city of

Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway The Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), signed as E1 and E4 of the Philippine expressway network and R-8 of the Metro Manila arterial road network, is controlled-access toll expressway in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Fro ...

(SCTEx) and

Jose Abad Santos Avenue Jose Abad Santos Avenue (JASA), also known as the Olongapo–Gapan Road and the Gapan–San Fernando–Olongapo Road, is a two-to-thirteen-lane major highway spanning the provinces of Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Zambales in Central Luzon ...

(also known as Olongapo–Gapan Road) traverse the southern part of the protected area with the Tipo Toll Barrier that connects SCTEx to the Subic Freeport Expressway close to park's southwestern edge.

Topography and ecology

The park is bisected by several streams, including the Cucubog and Olongi rivers. It is composed of 87% grassland dominated by

cogon ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has also been introduce ...

and '' talahib'', and 13% remnants of old growth forest and mahogany and

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

plantations. The park is a habitat for several endangered species and game animals which include pythons, monitor lizards,

cloud rat The cloud rats or cloudrunners are a tribe (Phloeomyini) of arboreal and nocturnal herbivorous rodents endemic to the cloud forests of the Philippines. They belong to the family Muridae and include five genera: ''Batomys'' (hairy-tailed rats), ' ...

s, quails,

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

s, flycatchers and fruit bats.

References

{{Protected areas in Central Luzon Protected landscapes of the Philippines Landforms of Bataan Tourist attractions in Bataan Protected areas established in 1933 1933 establishments in the Philippines

Location

Topography and ecology

See also

References