Pampanga River

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Pampanga River is the second largest river in the island of Luzon in the Philippines, next to the Cagayan River. It is located in the Central Luzon region and traverses the provinces of Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Tarlac and Quezon.

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[edit] Topography

Its headwaters are located at the Sierra Madre and runs a south and southwesterly course for about 260 kilometers until it drains into Manila Bay.

The river's basin covers an area of 10,540 km²., including the allied basin of Guagua River. The basin is drained through the Pampanga River and via the Labangan Channel into the Manila Bay.

Its main tributaries are Peñaranda and the Coronel-Santor Rivers on the eastern side of the basin and the Rio Chico River from the northwest side. The Angat River joins the Pampanga River at Calumpit, Bulacan via the Bagbag River. Mount Arayat (elevation: 1,026) stands in the middle of the basin. Southeast of Mount Arayat and the Pampanga River is the Candaba Swamp, covering an area of some 250 km². absorbing most of the flood flows from the western slopes of a portion of the Sierra Madre and the overflowing of the Pampanga River via the Cabiao Floodway. This area is submerged during the rainy season but is relatively dry during summer.

[edit] Flora and fauna

[edit] Flooding

The basin experiences, on an average, at least one flooding in a year. The dry season generally occurs from December to May, and wet the rest of the year. The wettest months are from July to September. The frequency of tropical cyclone passage over the basin is about 5 in 3 years.

[edit] People

[edit] Economic importance

At the lower sections of the basin, where the Pampanga delta lies, the Pampanga River system divides into small branches, crisscrossed with fishponds to form a network of sluggish, tidal flats and canals, which eventually find their way to Manila Bay.

With the anticipated completion of the Pampanga Delta Project (DPWH), it is expected that floodflows at the lower section of the Pampanga River will recede at a much faster rate than before.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links


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