page_title: Southern Leyte
section_title: Topography
hierarchical_section_title: Southern Leyte / Geography / Topography
caption_attribution_description: Sogod city and bay from the mountain
context_page_description: Southern Leyte is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Maasin. Southern Leyte comprised the third congressional district Leyte until it was made into an independent province in 1959. Southern Leyte includes Limasawa, an island to the south where the first Roman Catholic Mass in Philippine soil is believed to have taken place and thus considered to be the birthplace of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines.
  The province ranks as the second least populated in the region. According to the 2015 census, the province has a population of 421,750.
  Southern Leyte's geological features created several issues in the province after the flooding of the Subangdaku River and the 2006 mudslide in Guinsaugon. Organizations warned the province it was susceptible to natural occurrences like landslides and floods.
  Southern Leyte forms an important part of the inter-island transportation system of the country, with ferries transporting people and goods between Liloan and Surigao del Norte in Mindanao. The province is well known for its quality abaca products and is the country's major producer of abaca fiber.
context_section_description: Southern Leyte is characterized by relatively flat lands along the coastal areas where population centers lie, but rugged mountains towards the interior.
  The province has inland water features. Based on national data, the province has altogether 93 rivers, including 18 major ones, namely the Amparo River in Macrohon, the Canturing River in Maasin City, the Das-ay and Pondol Rivers in Hinunangan, the Divisoria River in Bontoc, the Hitungao and Lawigan Rivers in Saint Bernard, the Maag River in Silago, and the Subangdaku River in Sogod which is the biggest of all. The province has an inland lake called Lake Danao located in the mountains of San Juan and Anahawan, towns in the eastern region.
  Subangdaku, the province's largest river, created an issue over the area. It can be considered a braided river composed of several channels from near areas that divide and reunite forming an alluvial fan with a very wide floodplain. As such, the river usually became hazardous during typhoons after heavy rains. The river has overflowed, spilling its waters on the low-lying towns of Liloan and San Vicente and destroyed an ongoing flood control project worth millions of pesos. The river meanders along its course, ever changing its way over time. During the time it floods, it destroys every side of its course. In 2001, portions of the road and banks in Barangay San Miguel along the river were destroyed, including part of the Philippine National Road. Local officials blamed the rechannelization and uncontrolled quarrying of gravel and sand at the side of river as the cause of the flood. At a meeting on March 18, 2002, one of the representatives of a government agency alleged that the reason of the incidents of flood and other environmental problems in the river was due to the "Philippine Fault" which caused rocks to rumble down. However, the reason was contended because the fault is a geological feature and environmental problems in the province just occurred that time.
  Along with other mountain forms in the province, Mount Nacolod in Hinunangan town has the highest peak with an elevation of 948 metres (3,110 ft) above sea level. Young volcanic rocks are discovered in the terrain areas, which cover the top of the southern mountain ranges of Mount Cabalian in the Pacific Area and Mount Nelangcapan in Panaon Area.
  The province lies within the Philippine Fault System. The major fault lines traverse the municipalities of Sogod, Libagon, Saint Bernard and San Juan to Panaon Island. Based on Mines and Geosciences Bureau Region 8 data, these areas had experienced strong earthquakes in 1907 and 1948 with a magnitude of 6.9 and on July 5, 1984 with a 6.4 scale. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau warned that Southern Leyte's natural and geological features make it susceptible to landslides and floodings. The affiliated group stated that there are four contributory reasons: unusually heavy rains; numerous faults and badly broken rocks; steep slopes; and absence of effective vegetative cover.
  The province has numerous types of soil. Soil types within the Maasin Clay, Guimbalaon Clay, Himay-angan Clay, Bolinao Clay, Quingua Clay and Malitbog Clay series serve as raw materials for ceramics and pottery made by local residents.
caption: A view of Sogod Bay and the town of Sogod
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