earth science

Mount Banahaw

Mount Banahaw is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mount Banahaw rather than just read about it. In short: Mount Banahaw (IPA: [bɐˈnahaʊ]; also spelled as Banahao and Banájao) is an active complex volcano on Luzon in the Philippines. The three-peaked volcano is located at the boundary of Laguna and Quezon provinces.

Key takeaways

Mount Banahaw belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mount Banahaw to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mount Banahaw from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mount Banahaw (IPA: [bɐˈnahaʊ]; also spelled as Banahao and Banájao) is an active complex volcano on Luzon in the Philippines. The three-peaked volcano is located at the boundary of Laguna and Quezon provinces. It is the highest mountain in both provinces and Calabarzon region, dominating the landscape for miles around. The mountain is considered by many a holy mountain, thus a bundok dambana, and is popular among pilgrims along with mountain climbers. It is located in a protected area known as Mounts Banahaw–San Cristobal Protected Landscape covering 10,901 hectares (26,940 acres) of land.

Physical characteristics The andesitic Banahaw volcanic complex is composed of several stratovolcanoes with Mount Banahaw, the largest with a maximum elevation of 2,170 meters (7,119 ft) above mean sea level. The summit is topped by a 1.5-by-3.5-kilometer (0.93 mi × 2.17 mi) and 210-meter-deep (690 ft) caldera that is breached on the southern rim believed to have been caused by the 1730 eruption. Prior to 1730, a lake occupied the summit crater of Mount Banahaw. The resulting Mudflow destroyed the town of Sariaya, Quezon located below the mountain.

Other peaks: Mount San Cristobal (on the western slope) Mount Banahaw de Lucban (at northeastern slope) Buho Masalukot Domes (at southwestern slope) Mount Mayabobo Maars: Lake Dagatan/Gunao Lake and Lake Ticob Thermal Areas: Tiaong-San Pablo hot/warm springs Bakia warm/cold springs Sampaloc warm springs Mainit hot/warm springs Cagsiay hot/warm springs

Importance to locals

Banahaw is a custom pilgrimage site for locals, believed by many as a holy mountain, a spiritually-charged location. The mountain and its environs are considered sacred by local residents; the water from its sacred springs are deemed "holy water" for allegedly having beneficial qualities, issuing forth from locations called "puestos" or "holy sites". These sites are unique natural features composed not only of springs, but also caves, streams and boulders; with names with biblical allusions, and shrines erected in, on or around them. These locations were allegedly revealed to a man named Agripino Lontoc by the "Santong Boses" or the "Holy Voices", which also gave the names to these places way back during the Spanish colonial era. Another one of these mountains is the adjacent Mount Banahaw de Lucbán. Banahaw is also a part of the Makiling-Banahaw Watershed, a reservation of the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) providing steam for power generation, as well as water source for domestic and industrial uses.

Hiking

The mountain is popular not only with pilgrims but also among mountain climbers being the closest over 2,000-meter (6,600 ft) mountain from Manila. Before 2004, hiking activity peaked during Holy Week each year, with climbers numbering in the thousands. At least four trails exist from Dolores, Sariaya, and other towns of Quezon located on its foothills. The most frequently used trails are the Cristalino and Tatlong Tangke, taking an average of 9 and 5 hours, respectively. These two trails originate from Barangay Kinabuhayan in Dolores, and meet near the summit, which is actually the rim of the Banahaw caldera. On the summit are viewpoints, labeled as Durungawan I, II, and III, which are the usual destination for pilgrims and hikers. Other points of interest include the "Kuweba ng Diyos Ama" (Tagalog: Cave of God the Father) and the spring at Brgy. Kinabuhayan, said to have curative powers.

Pollution Due to incessant climbing activity the mountain trails have become littered with trash. In March 2004, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ordered a 5-year suspension of hiking activity in the mountains, covering the Dolores and Sariaya trails. Reopening was delayed was then scheduled to March 2012, but was further extended to February 2015. Some sections of the mountain were reopened to hikers in 2019, and the mountain observed seasonal openings due to the mountain's religious significance, but most sections of the mountain still remain closed.

Biodiversity Frogs endemic to Mount Banahaw include Platymantis banahao, Platymantis indeprensus, Platymantis montanus, Platymantis naomii, and Platymantis pseudodorsalis.

Reptiles The Banahao forest skink (Parvoscincus banahaoensis) is a species of skink endemic to Mount Banahao.

Mammals Mount Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape is home to four endemic rodents: the Banahaw tree mouse (Musseromys gulantang), the Banahaw tweezer-beaked rat (Rhychomys banaho), the Banahaw forest mouse (Apomys banahao), and the Banahaw lowland forest mouse (Apomys magnus).

See also Sacred mountains List of volcanoes in the Philippines List of active volcanoes in the Philippines List of potentially active volcanoes in the Philippines List of inactive volcanoes in the Philippines List of protected areas of the Philippines Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology List of ultras of the Philippines

References

External links

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Mt Banahaw page "Mount Banahao, Philippines" on Peakbagger

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mount Banahaw

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mount Banahaw claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mount Banahaw before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mount Banahaw ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mount Banahaw

In research: Mount Banahaw appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mount Banahaw in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mount Banahaw is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Active volcanoes of the Philippines, Complex volcanoes, Folk Catholicism in the Philippines, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mount Banahaw outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mount Banahaw in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mount Banahaw means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mount Banahaw out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mount Banahaw in simple terms?

Why does Mount Banahaw matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mount Banahaw?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mount Banahaw.