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 aris ...

in western

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

. The mountains spread along a north-south axis, separating Luzon's central

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, 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 ...

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 South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

. The range extends into five

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales (; ; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is Iba, Zambales, Iba, which is located in t ...

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan (, ; ; ), is a coastal Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capital is Lingayen, Pangasinan, Lingayen while San Carlos, Pangasi ...

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac (; ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. It had a population of 1,503,456 people according to ...

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

, and

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of 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 entire Bataan Peninsula ...

. One of its most prominent sections is known as the Cabusilan Mountain Range composed of

Mount Pinatubo Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Zambales Mountains in Luzon in the Philippines. Located on the tripoint of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga provinces, most people were unaware of its eruptive history before the pre-eruption volc ...

, Mount Negron and Mount Cuadrado, which are believed to be remnants of the ancestral Pinatubo peak. The highest elevation in the Zambales Mountains is Mount Tapulao, also known as High Peak, in Zambales province which rises to .

Extent

The Zambales Mountains has an area of extending North to South from the mountains of western

province, the whole length of Zambales, to tip of the

Bataan Peninsula Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga, Bataan, Balanga while Mariveles, ...

in the south enclosing

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

.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 (; ), is a Philippine municipality, municipality in the Philippine province, province of Tarlac, Philippines, and one of the richest towns in the province. The town also consists of numerous subdivi ...

, San Jose,

San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement" ) is a coastal city in southern Orange County, California, United States. It was named in 1925 after the Spanish colonial island (which was named after a Pope from the first century). Located in the O ...

, Mayantoc,

Santa Ignacia Santa Ignacia, officially the Municipality of Santa Ignacia (; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. Santa Ignacia has a total land area of . According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 51,626 people. The town i ...

, Camiling in the province of

. In

, it includes the mountains in Floridablanca,

Porac Porac, officially the Municipality of Porac (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 140,751 people. History Pora ...

Angeles City Angeles (), officially the City of Angeles (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 462,928 people. A ...

and

Mabalacat Mabalacat, officially Mabalacat City (; ), is a component city in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 293,244 people. Mabalacat is in the urban core of Metro Clark, also known as Metro ...

Geology

The Zambales Mountains include

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

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 (Earth), upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed, and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is ...

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 is a volcano located on the Alaska Peninsula on a slope of Trident Volcano in Katmai National Park and Preserve, about southwest of Anchorage. Novarupta was formed in 1912, during the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, in ...

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, produced during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to r ...

and

lahar A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a valley, river valley. Lahars are o ...

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

. Other volcanoes in Zambales Mountains are Mount Mariveles, Mount Natib and Mount Samat.

Protected areas

Bataan National Park Bataan National Park is a protected area of the Philippines located in the mountainous interior of Bataan province in the Central Luzon Region. Activities in the park include nature viewing, bird watching, and trekking to its several peaks and w ...

* Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape * Roosevelt Protected Landscape

Peaks

List of highest peaks

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

* Mount Mariveles * Mount Cuadrado * Mount McDonald * Mount Natib * Mount Limay * Mount Dorst * Mount Samat * Mount Gates

River system

Pinatubo Call789 AWFI 20201119 361 081 B151413

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

Deforestation

The Zambales mountains have undergone immense

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

due to excessive logging and swidden farming. The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo also devastated large areas of the range, mostly ancestral lands of the indigenous

Aeta Aeta (Ayta ), Agta and Dumagat, are collective terms for several indigenous peoples who live in various parts of Luzon islands in the Philippines. They are included in the wider Negrito grouping of the Philippines and the rest of Southeast A ...

s in Zambales.

Reforestation Reforestation is the practice of restoring previously existing forests and woodlands that have been destroyed or damaged. The prior forest destruction might have happened through deforestation, clearcutting or wildfires. Three important purpose ...

efforts have had success in some barren parts of the range, notably in

San Felipe, Zambales San Felipe, officially the Municipality of San Felipe (ilocano language, Ilocano: ''Ili ti San Felipe'', Filipino language, Filipino: ''Bayan ng San Felipe''), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, provinc ...

at the initiative of the Aeta people supported by MAD Travel and some government agencies.

Biodiversity

Mammals

The Zamabales forest mouse ( Apomys zambalensis) is a species of small rodent endemic to Zambales Mountains in the Philippines. The Tapulao forest mouse ( Apomys brownorum) is a species of small rodent endemic to Mount Tapulao in the Philippines. The Pinatubo forest mouse ( Apomys sacobianus) is a species of small rodent endemic to Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. The Tapulao tweezer-beaked rat ( Rhynchomys tapulao) is a species of small rodent endemic to Mount Tapulao in the Philippines.

Gallery

File:Zambales mountains.jpg, The Zambales Mountains is known for having pine trees, '' Pinus merkusii''. File:Mt. Tapulao 3.jpg, View from Mt. Tapulao overlooking the

in the distance File:Camiling River watershed.jpg, Mountainous barren landscape around the Camiling River watershed, Tarlac province File:Jagged ridge upper Lawis River (2).jpg, Upper Lawis River watershed, showing a jagged

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

File:Civet zambales mountains.jpg, A trapped

civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term ''civet'' applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species's div ...

in the Zambales Mountains that was later released

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline Mountain ranges of the Philippines Landforms of Zambales *