The Salinas Natural Monument is a

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...

comprising saline springs and forested mountains in southern

Cagayan Valley Cagayan Valley ( ilo, Tanap ti Cagayan; fil, Lambak ng Cagayan), is an administrative region in the Philippines, located in the northeastern section of Luzon Island. It is composed of five Philippine provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, ...

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 is one of four

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the landlocked province of

Nueva Vizcaya Nueva Vizcaya, officially the Province of Nueva Vizcaya ( ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Vizcaya; gad, Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya''; tl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Vizcaya ), is a landlocked province in the ...

spanning an area of in the municipalities of Bambang, Kayapa and Aritao. The park was established on May 18, 1914, as the Salinas Forest Reserve covering the Salinas Salt Springs and surrounding forest through Executive Order No. 44 signed by Governor-General

Francis Burton Harrison Francis Burton Harrison (December 18, 1873 – November 21, 1957) was an American statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and was appointed governor-general of the Philippines by President of the United States Woodro ...

. In 1926, through amendments made in Proclamation No. 53 by Governor-General

Leonard Wood Leonard Wood (October 9, 1860 – August 7, 1927) was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba, and Governor-General of the Philip ...

, the forest reserve was re-established as the Salinas Deer Refuge. Salinas was finally declared a natural monument in 2000 under the National Integrated Protected Areas System through Proclamation No. 275 by President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...

Description

The natural monument is centered on the mountain of salt mines ( es, salinas) in the

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolit ...

of the same name in Bambang municipality near the confluence of

Magat River The Magat River is a river in the Philippine island of Luzon with a total length of . It originates in the Nueva Vizcaya municipality of Aritao, where the Santa Fe River joins the Marang. It is the largest tributary of the Cagayan River by dis ...

and Santa Cruz River in the Upper Magat River Basin. This once snow-white mountain of

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...

situated on the southeastern slopes of the

Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands. Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges: * Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America ** ...

contains the Salinas Salt Springs, a popular attraction in the province during the early days of

Spanish 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, Ca ...

and American colonial periods. The mountain of salt was formed through the continuous flow of a natural spring containing sulfate and carbonate salts over millions of years. When the

1990 Luzon earthquake The 1990 Luzon earthquake struck the island of Luzon in the Philippines at 4:26 p.m. on July 16 ( PDT) or 3:26 p.m. ( PST) with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.7 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent'') and produced a ...

hit the area, tectonic movements caused the underground water to be diverted leaving the whitish mounds dry and causing them to turn gray. At present, this mountain at Sitio Bansing once known for its salt industry is being utilized as fishponds arranged in terraces on the mountainside for freshwater fish such as ''

tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most i ...

'' and African sharptooth catfish, including the

giant freshwater prawn ''Macrobrachium rosenbergii'', also known as the giant river prawn or giant freshwater prawn, is a commercially important species of palaemonid freshwater prawn. It is found throughout the tropical and subtropical areas of the Indo-Pacific regi ...

. The surrounding forest inhabited by numerous Philippine deers spreads over the villages of Salinas and Barat in Bambang, Mapayao, Acacia and San Fabian in Kayapa, and Baan in Aritao just north of Caraballo Sur. It is located approximately south of the region's commercial center of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...

and some from the Cauayan Airport. It is accessible via a road from the

Pan-Philippine Highway The Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway ( tl, Daang Maharlika; ceb, Dalang Halangdon), is a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in ...

(AH26) in Bambang. On June 22, 2018, the Salinas Natural Monument was designated a national park through the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (ENIPAS) Act or Republic Act No. 11038 which was signed by President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

References

{{authority control Natural monuments of the Philippines Springs of the Philippines Geography of Nueva Vizcaya Landforms of Nueva Vizcaya Tourist attractions in Nueva Vizcaya Protected areas established in 1914 1914 establishments in the Philippines National parks of the Philippines

Description

See also

References