Sierra Madre (Philippines)

For the Philippine Navy ship of the same name, see USS Harnett County (LST-821).

Sierra Madre Mountains (Philippines)
View south of the northern Sierra Madre from the peak of Mount Cagua in Cagayan
Geography
Location of the center of the range in the Philippines
Country	Philippines
Province	Aurora Bulacan Cagayan Isabela Laguna Nueva Ecija Nueva Vizcaya Quezon Quirino Rizal
Region	Cagayan Valley CALABARZON Central Luzon Metro Manila
Range coordinates	(approximate center of the range)
Borders on	Pacific Ocean

The Sierra Madre Mountains is the longest mountain range in the Philippines. Running in the north-south direction from the provinces of Cagayan to the north and Quezon to the south, the mountains form the eastern backbone of Luzon Island, the largest island of the archipelago. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east. The Pacific coast of Luzon along the Sierra Madre is less developed as the lofty and continuous mountains forms a bold and an almost inaccessible shore, exposed to the full force of the northeast monsoon and the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Some of communities east of the mountain range and along the coast are so remote they are only accessible by plane or boat.

The Quezon Protected Landscape is situated at the southern part of the range.

Geography

The Sierra Madre is the longest mountain range in the Philippines. In the north, the range starts in the province of Cagayan and ends in the south in the province of Quezon. In the province of Nueva Vizcaya, the Caraballo Mountains connect Sierra Madre Mountain range with the Cordillera Central range.

The mountain range serves as a typhoon barrier, attenuating incoming typhoons from the Pacific Ocean before reaching the central mainland.

Remote communities

Some coastal communities east of the Sierra Madre Mountains, especially from Palanan, Isabela heading north to near the northernmost tip of mainland Cagayan, are remote and isolated with no roads connecting them to towns west of the mountain range. Towns like Palanan and Maconacon, Isabela can only be reached by plane from Cauayan City or a boat ride from Aurora province, south of Isabela.

Highest elevation

The range's highest point is unclear, and several peaks are attributed as the highest. Mount Anacuao in Aurora province stands at 6,069 feet (1,850 m), while Mount Cetaceo in Cagayan is of similar altitude. However, an expedition in April 2012 to Mount Guiwan (Nueva Vizcaya) preliminarily measured an altitude of 6,283 feet (1,915 m) on the summit.

The mountains as viewed near summit of the Mount Oriod in Bulacan

Ecoregions

The mountains in Gabaldon

The mountains in Isabela as viewed from Barangay Diddadungan in the town of Palanan

Ecoregions in the range are in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (lower) and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests (higher) biomes.

National parks

• Aurora Memorial National Park
• Biak-na-Bato National Park
• Fuyot Springs National Park

Other protected areas

• Amro River Protected Landscape
• Casecnan Protected Landscape
• Dinadiawan River Protected Landscape
• La Mesa Watershed Reservation
• Magapit Protected Landscape
• Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park
• Peñablanca Protected Landscape and Seascape
• Quezon Protected Landscape
• Quirino Protected Landscape
• Simbahan-Talagas Protected Landscape
• Talaytay Protected Landscape
• Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape

Active volcanoes

• Cagua Volcano an active volcano in Cagayan province that last erupted in 1907

Endemic species

In the forest, in April 2010, the endemic lizard species Northern Sierra Madre Forest monitor lizard - Varanus bitatawa (common name: Butikaw) was described to science, although the Aeta and Ilongot indigenous peoples have known and used it as a food source.

Human activities

Lower portions of the Sierra Madre, with habitat damage from logging and charcoal-making.

The Sierra Madre mountain range forest habitat is threatened by human activities. Settlers living at the lower portions of the slopes generally are supported by work in logging and charcoal-making. Some portions of the forest cover are already second growth forest.

See also

• Geography of the Philippines
• Ecoregions in the Philippines

External links

• Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor