The Abulog River or Abulug River is the 9th largest

river system In geomorphology, drainage systems, also known as river systems, are the patterns formed by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a particular drainage basin. They are governed by the topography of land, whether a particular region is dominated by har ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in terms of

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

size. It has an estimated drainage area of and a length of from its source in the mountains of

Apayao Apayao, officially the Province of Apayao (; ; isnag language, Isnag: ''Provinsia nga Apayao''; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Kabugao, Apayao, Kab ...

in the Cordillera Administrative Region. More than 90% of the drainage area of the river is located in

province while the remaining, including the mouth of the river, is in

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan (; ; ; isnag language, Isnag: ''Provinsia nga Cagayan''; ivatan language, Ivatan: ''Provinsiya nu Cagayan''; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Cag ...

province.

Location and basin

The river is located in the northern part of

Cordillera A cordillera is a chain or network of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly used in physical geogra ...

, along with the

Apayao River The Apayao River is a river on the island of Luzon in the Apayao province of the Philippines. It flows from an extensive watershed in the western slopes of the province, flows past the town of Kabugao and runs into the Pacific Ocean at the coast ...

. The river is part of the Abulog-Apayao basin, which spans at about a size. The upper reaches of the Abulug River, especially upstream from

Kabugao Kabugao, officially the Municipality of Kabugao (; Itawis: ''Babalay yo Kabugao''; ), is a municipality and ''de jure'' capital of the province of Apayao, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 16,215 people. Hist ...

, is commonly known as the

Dam

Development plans were proposed for the river, for creating a dam, or more specifically four. The Gened 2 HEPP, the Aoan Dam, the Calanasan dam, and one more unnamed dam. The council still needs to get permission from the Isnag people to construct the dams. The reactions were mixed, with elders liking the project, stating that it will “will uplift the lives of so many generations to come.”

Use

The river is used by many as a fishing spot and a swimming spot. With the river being sacred by many, especially the

Isnag people The Isnag people (also referred to as Isneg, Yapayao and Apayao) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to Apayao province in the Philippines' Cordillera Administrative Region, though they are also found in parts of Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, and ...

Crossings

* Lucban Bridge (,

Abulug, Cagayan Abulug (; ; ), officially the Municipality of Abulug, is a municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,579 people. History Abulug was officially established as a Spanish mission in 159 ...

)

References

Rivers of the Philippines Landforms of Cagayan Landforms of Apayao {{Philippines-river-stub