Agusan del Norte, officially the Province of Agusan del Norte ( ceb, Amihanang Agusan; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Norte''; tl, Hilagang Agusan), is a

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 out ...

in the

Caraga Caraga, officially the Caraga Administrative Region (or simply known as Caraga Region) and designated as Region XIII, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines occupying the northeastern section of Mindanao. Th ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of 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 ...

. Its capital is the city of Cabadbaran with several government offices located in the city of Butuan. It is bordered on the northwest by

Butuan Bay Butuan Bay is a bay and extension of the Bohol Sea or ''Mindanao Sea'', in the northeast section of Mindanao in the Philippines. Its main river source is the Agusan River, which empties into the bay at the coastal city of Butuan. Butuan Bay is co ...

; northeast by

Surigao del Norte Surigao del Norte ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Norte''; ceb, Amihanang Surigao; Tagalog: ''Hilagang Surigao''), officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. ...

; mid-east by

Surigao del Sur Surigao del Sur ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Sur''; ceb, Habagatang Surigao; tl, Timog Surigao), officially the Province of Surigao del Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region in Mindanao. Its capital is T ...

; southeast by

Agusan del Sur Agusan del Sur, officially the Province of Agusan del Sur ( ceb, Habagatang Agusan; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Sur''; tl, Timog Agusan), is a province in Caraga region, Mindanao, Philippines. Its capital is the municipality of Pros ...

, and southwest by

Misamis Oriental Misamis Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Misamis; tl, Silangang Misamis), officially the Province of Misamis Oriental, is a province located in the region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Its capital, largest city and provincial center is t ...

History

Spanish and American era

Prior to its creation as an independent province, Agusan, as it was once undivided, was under the jurisdiction of Surigao province during the

Spanish colonial period Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain ** Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries ** Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, C ...

. In 1907, Agusan was separated from Surigao by the American government, creating the Agusan province.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1942, the

Japanese Imperial forces The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces (IJAF) were the combined military forces of the Japanese Empire. Formed during the Meiji Restoration in 1868,"One can date the 'restoration' of imperial rule from the edict of 3 January 1868." p. 334. they ...

landed in Northern Agusan. In 1945, Filipino soldiers of the 6th, 10th, 101st, 102nd, 103rd, 107th and 110th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the 10th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary together with the recognized Agusan guerrilla fighter units against the Japanese forces beginning the liberation in Northern Agusan during

. During the war, a unit of the joint Philippine-American defense force were located at Manot, Talacogon, in the interior of the Agusan Valley.

Independence

In 1967, '' Republic Act 4979'' divided Agusan into two independent provinces: Agusan del Norte and

. On August 16, 2000, the seat of provincial government was transferred from

Butuan City Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' c ...

to Cabadbaran through '' Republic Act 8811'', although the province is yet to complete the transfer of provincial services and functions to the new capital.

Geography

Agusan del Norte is situated in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

's western section of

. It is bordered on the northwest by the

; northeast by

; mid-east by

; southeast by

, and southwest by

. Agusan del Norte has a total land area of . When Butuan is included for geographical purposes, the province's land area is . The central portion of the province forms the lower basin of the third longest river in the country, the Agusan, its

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

located at the

. Consequently, the terrain surrounding the river features flat to rolling lands. Mountainous terrain dominate the northeastern and western areas. The country's fourth largest lake,

Lake Mainit Lake Mainit is the fourth largest lake in the Philippines, having a surface area of . The lake is also the deepest lake in the country with maximum depth reaching . It is located in the northeastern section of Mindanao and shared between the p ...

is situated at the northern border between the province of

Administrative divisions

Agusan del Norte comprises 10

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

and 1 component city. The city of Cabadbaran is the officially designated capital of the province per '' Republic Act 8811''. The

highly urbanized city A city ( fil, lungsod/siyudad) is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities ( fil, nakakartang lungsod), whose existence as corporate and administrative entities is governed by their own ...

of Butuan is geographically within but administratively independent from the province. Ph fil agusan del norte

Demographics

The population of Agusan del Norte in the 2020 census was 387,503 people, making it the country's 64th most populous province. It had a density of . When the highly urbanized city of Butuan is included for geographical purposes, the province's population is 691,566 people, with a density of .

Religion

In 2013, the Diocese of Butuan (''Catholic-Hierarchy'') reported that

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

is the predominant religion of the province comprising roughly 71% of the population and significant minority belongs to Iglesia Filipina Independiente with 10% . The remaining beliefs usually belong to other

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

denominations as well as

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

Economy

The economy of the province is dominantly agricultural, major crops of which include rice, corn, coconut, abaca, banana and mango.

Government

Agusan del Norte has two

congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

encompassing its 10 municipalities and 1 component city, as well as the highly urbanized city of Butuan.

Tourism

The province has many beaches in Cabadbaran and the municipalities of

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the ...

, Buenavista, and Nasipit. Mount Hilong-Hilong, one of the tallest in the province, is located in Cabadbaran. From the top of Prayer Mountain (Mount Pongkay), visitors can have a panoramic view of Cabadbaran which includes buildings, churches, rivers and the sea. The Agusan River, the longest in Mindanao and the third longest in the Philippines is in

. Looming southwest of the Agusan Valley is Mount Mayapay, a mountain

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

. The ancient

Balangay A Balangay, or barangay is a type of lashed-lug boat built by joining planks edge-to-edge using pins, dowels, and fiber lashings. They are found throughout the Philippines and were used largely as trading ships up until the colonial era. The ...

boats were found in Butuan, excavated in the Balangay Shrine across the Masao River from Bood Promontory. They played a major role because of Butuan being a

port city A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

. Since its discovery, the Balangays have become an icon of Butuan. The Kaya ng Pinoy, Inc. recreated the Balangay boats and have sailed it as part of their project, the Balangay Voyage.

References

External links

* *
Official website of the Provincial Government of Agusan del Norte
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agusan Del Norte Provinces of the Philippines States and territories established in 1967 1967 establishments in the Philippines