Banaue, Ifugao

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Official Seal
Official seal of the Municipality of Banaue
The Banaue Rice Terraces
General Information
Country: Philippines
Region: Cordillera Administrative Region
Province: Ifugao
Postal codes: 3601
Country Code: 63
Area Code: 74
Homepage: http://www.banaue.gov.ph
Flag of Ifugao Province
Map: Map of Ifugao showing the location ofBanaue
Name in other languages
Tagalog Bayan ng Banaue
Ilocano Illi tiBanaue
Politics
Mayor Jerry U.Dalipog
Governing Party
Last Election: 10 May 2004
Next Election: 14 May 2007
Population
Population: 20,563 (2000)
Population growth rate: 3.65%
Geography
Area: km²
- percent land: km²
- percent water: km²
Highest Point: 2,628
Mt. Amuyao
Lowest Point:
Administrative Structure
Barangays: 18

Banaue is a 4th class municipality in the province of Ifugao, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 20,563 people in 3,952 households. It is widely known as the site of the Banaue Rice Terraces.

Contents

[edit] Banaue Rice Terraces

Sometimes called the "Eighth Wonder of the World", the Banaue Rice Terraces begin at the base of the mountain range and extend several thousand feet upwards. The terraces have been named a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is said that their length, if put end to end, would encircle half of the globe. Built 2,000 years ago, the rice terraces manifest the engineering skill and ingenuity of the sturdy Ifugaos. They are irrigated by means of mountain streams and springs that have been tapped and channeled into canals that run downhill through the rice terraces.

The rice terraces once stretched northeast to Cagayan and as far south as Quezon. However they are now slowly being abandoned and showing signs of deterioration. A severe 1990 earthquake damaged some of the terraces' irrigation systems, while El Niño triggered droughts that led giant earthworms to erode the terraces' soil. Furthermore, the rice variety most suited to the area's cool climate is not a high-yielding crop; because it takes so long to mature, some Ifugao families have abandoned their land in the rice terraces in favor of land that reaps faster rewards.

An Ifugao Terraces Commission was created in 1994 but has since been superseded by the Banaue Rice Terraces task force, which was closed in 2002.

Panoramic view of the Banaue Rice Terraces
Panoramic view of the Banaue Rice Terraces

[edit] Barangays

Banaue is politically subdivided into 18 barangays.

  • Amganad
  • Anaba
  • Bangaan
  • Batad
  • Bocos
  • Banao
  • Cambulo
  • Ducligan
  • Gohang
  • Kinakin
  • Poblacion
  • Poitan
  • San Fernando
  • Balawis
  • Ohaj
  • Tam-an
  • View Point
  • Pula

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 16.919° N 121.059° E