Laguna de Bay

Laguna, Luzon


Laguna de Bay (Filipino: Lawa ng Bay; English: Lake of Bay) is the largest lake in the Philippines and the third largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia (in terms of surface area) after Tonle Sap in Cambodia and Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia. It is on the island of Luzon between the provinces of Laguna to the south and Rizal to the north. Metro Manila lies on its western shore. Its surface area is about 911 square kilometres (352 sq mi) with an average depth of only about 2.8 metres (9 ft 2 in) and elevation of about 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) above sea level. The lake is shaped like a stylized 'W', with two peninsulas jutting out from the northern shore. Between these peninsulas, the middle lobe fills the large volcanic Laguna Caldera. Laguna de Bay drains to Manila Bay via the Pasig River. The lake is one of the primary sources of freshwater fish in the country.
There is a large island in the lake, Talim Island, which is under the jurisdiction of the towns of Binangonan and Cardona in Rizal province.

"Laguna de Bay" is the Old Spanish term for "Lake of Bay". "Laguna" is the Spanish word for "Lake", and Bay (pronounced as bä'ï) is a town in Laguna province, along the south shore of the lake.
In the pre-Hispanic era, the lake was known as "Puliran Kasumuran" (Laguna Copperplate Inscription. 900 AD), and later by "Pulilan" (Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala.1613. Pila, Laguna).

The middle part of Laguna de Bay between Mt. Sembrano and Talim island, is the Laguna Caldera) believed to have been formed by two major volcanic eruptions, around 1 million and 27,000-29,000 years ago. Remnants of its volcanic history are shown by the presence of maars at the southern end of Talim Island and a solfataric field in Jala Jala.






Laguna de Bay is a large shallow freshwater body in the heart of Luzon Island with an aggregate area of about 911 square kilometres (352 sq mi) and a shoreline of 220 kilometres (140 mi). It is considered to be the third largest inland body of water in Southeast Asia. To compare the area of Laguna De Bay to landmarks in the United States, it is a little bigger than New York City (including all five boroughs) or slightly smaller than Salton Sea in southern California. Laguna de Bay is bordered by the province of Laguna in the east, west and southwest, the province of Rizal in the north to northeast, and Metropolitan Manila in the northwest. The southern and eastern portions of Metro Manila occupy a huge portion of its watershed. The lake has an average depth of 2.8 metres (9 ft 2 in) and its excess water is discharged through the Pasig River.








The lake is fed by 45,000 square kilometres (17,000 sq mi) of catchment areas and its 21 major tributaries. Among these are the Pagsanjan River which is the source of 35% of the Lake's water, the Sta. Cruz River which is the source of 15% of the Lake's water, the Balanak River, the Marikina River, the Mangangate River, the Tunasan River, the San Pedro River, the Cabuyao River, the San Cristobal River, the San Juan River, the Bay, Calo and Maitem rivers in Bay, the Molawin, Dampalit river, Dampalit, and Pele river, Pele rivers in Los Baños, the Pangil River, the Tanay River, the Morong River, the Siniloan River, and the Sapang Baho River.