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PROVINCIAL PROFILE OF LANAO DEL NORTE
FAST FACTS
Capital : Tubod
Area : 3,092 sq. km
Population : 618,834
Cities : Iligan
No. of Towns : 22
Click Here To View The
List Of Towns.
LOCATION
Lanao del Norte is in northern Mindanao. It is bounded on the
north by Iligan
Bay and Misamis Oriental, on the east by Bukidnon, on the west by
Panguil
Bay and Zamboanga del Sur, and on the south by Lanao del Sur and
Ilana
Bay. Iligan is a highly urbanized city. It has an area of 730 sq
km and a
population of 226,568.
THE LAND
Lanao del Norte has sloping terrain from the shoreline of Panguil
Bay in the
west rising to the mountains adjoining Lanao del Sur in the
southeast. Several
rivers traverse the province, the most important of which is the
Agus River
which feeds the Maria Cristina Falls. Rainfall occurs throughout
the year.
Average temperature is 80 decrees farenhieght.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Under Republic Act No. 2228, approved on May 22, 1959, the
province of
Lanao was divided into Lanao del Norte, with its predominant
Christian
population and Lanao del Sur, with its predominant Muslim
population.
Spanish rule was not established in Lanao until almost the very
end of their
occupation.
Despite numerous earlier attempts, Spanish power came into the
area only in
1894 with Governor General Ramos Blanco's capture of the Muslim
stronghold in Marawi. In 1895, Lanao was organized into a
district of
Mindanao and Sulu. When Lanao del Norte was made into a separate
province, Iligan City became its capital. On June 24, 1982, under
Batas
Pambansa Blg. 181, the seat of the provincial government was
transferred to
the municipality of Tubod.
THE PEOPLE
Migrants from the Visayas have densely populated the north coast
while the
relatively few Muslims live into the interior communities. Some
Subanons are
found in the western part. About 65% of the people speak Cebuano,
while
some 33% speak the Maranao dialect. Iligan City's population
consist of 92%
Cebuano speaking Visayan migrants and 3% Maranaos. The rest are
Ilonggos,
Tagalogs, and others.
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Agriculture, fishing, and forestry are the dominant sources of
livelihood. It is a
major producer of fruit and commercial crops like bananas,
coconut, corn,
and rice. The harnessing of the Maria Cristina Falls as a source
of power has
spurred the industrial growth of Iligan. Today, it has large
industrial
establishments that manufacture steel, bricks, cement, wheat
flour, and
coconut oil, among others. Iligan, however, remains largely
agricultural in
terms of land area.
Information gathered from:
League of
Provinces
by:Roberto C. Arellano
This page last revised:February 02, 1999.
