Bantayan Island

About

Bantayan Island is an island located in the Visayan Sea, Philippines. It is situated to the west of the northern end of Cebu, across the Tañon Strait. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 145,436. The island is administratively divided into three municipalities, namely Bantayan, the largest municipality covering the central part of the island, Madridejos, covering the northern portion, and Santa Fe, covering the southeastern portion, which serves as the center of tourism. The island area is 108.77 square kilometers (42.00 sq mi). The island is mostly covered with coconut trees; the elevation is mostly below 10 meters (30 ft), with only one taller hill, at 26 meters (90 ft), in barangay Atop-atop.

Bantayan is the main and largest island of the Bantayan island group that lies close to the geographical center of the Philippine archipelago. The island group includes numerous smaller islands (some uninhabited or uninhabitable), mostly around the southwest corner of the island. About 20 of these islets stretch for about 8 kilometers (5 miles) southwest from Bantayan municipality port area, with some nearer ones being accessible on foot from the main island at low tide. The islands are beside the busy shipping lanes for ships and ferries coming from Mindanao or Cebu City on their way to Manila. The islands are all small and green and low, virtually indistinguishable one from another.

Botique (or Botigues, Batquis) Botong Byagayag Islands (Daku and Diot) Doong Hilantagaan (or Jicantangan, Jilantagaan, Cabalauan) Hilantagaan Diot (or Silion, Pulo Diyot ('little island') Hilutungan (or Hilotongan, Lutungan) Lipayran Mambacayao (or Mambacayao Daku) Moambuc (or Maamboc, Moamboc, Kangka Abong, Cangcabong) Panangatan (or Pintagan) Panitugan (or Banitugan) Patao (or Polopolo) Sagasay (or Sagasa, Tagasa) Silagon Yao Islet (or Mambacayao Diot) In addition, Guintacan Island (or Kinatarkan, Batbatan) to the northeast is part of Santa Fe municipality although it is not part of the Bantayan islands group archipelago.

The Bantayanon language is mostly a mixture of different neighbouring Visayan languages: The principally native Cebuano (from Cebu and Eastern Negros) and Hiligaynon (from Western Negros and Iloilo), Boholano (from Bohol), Masbateño (from Masbate) and Waray-Waray (from Leyte and Samar). However it has its own words such as "kakyop" (yesterday), and "sara" (today).

The climate is typically equatorial – temperature range over the year is less than three degrees Celsius (5.4 deg F), and annual rainfall exceeds 1,500 millimeters (59 in). January to April inclusive are less wet than the other months. This supports at least two rice crops per year. The climate in Bantayan falls within Coronas climate type IV, characterised by not very pronounced maximum rainfall with a short dry season from one to three months and a wet season of nine to ten months. The dry season starts in February and lasts through April sometimes extending to mid‑May. Bantayan has a tropical climate. Most months of the year are marked by significant rainfall. The short dry season has little impact. This location is classified as Am (Tropical monsoon climate) by Köppen–Geiger climate classification system.

Like most of Cebu province, the lithology of the island consists of two unit types. The Plio-Pleistocene Carcar Formation is typically a porous coralline limestone characterized by small sinkholes, pitted grooves, and branching pinnacles. This suggests in situ deposition. Its dominant composition are shell, algae, and other carbonate materials, while macro and micro fossils are found abundant in its formation. Quaternary alluvium (the youngest lithologic unit) is mostly found in coastal areas. Calcareous sand derived from the weathering of limestone mostly makes up the tidal flat. This appears as fine to coarse-grained sand mixed with shell fragments.As a consequence of the geology, water supplies are hard.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.