12 Geological Landscapes of the Philippines

RON MAGARZO
“THE FIRST 11 ROCK FORMATIONS WERE
TAKEN FROM THE MGB CALENDAR 2013”
Kapurpurawan “Rock
Formation” in Burgos,
Ilocos Norte

This rock formation takes its name from the

Ilocano term “puraw”, for white. The
magnificent white rock outcrop, known as the
Kapurpurawan “Rock Formation”, was
shaped by the action of ocean waves and
wind along the northwestern coast of Ilocos
Norte. This natural action produced the
cream to buff color uplifted and alternating
sequence of coral reefs and coralline
calcarenite. The resulting crevices that look
like “cribs” and a “resting dragon” were the
result of the differential erosion and
weathering of the well-bedded rocks that
were at least as thick as the adjoining rocks.
Jointed Crystalline
Limestone in Coron
Island, Calamian Island
Group, Northern
Palawan
The limestone is the dominant rock of the
Late Triassic to Late Jurassic(about 145 to
200 million years ago) Coron Formation. It is
a generally massive, often jointed, light to
dark gray, crystalline limestone.
Columnar Volcanic
Rocks in Barangay
Waterfalls, Kapatagan,
Lanao del Norte
The volcanic rocks that underlie a rolling
terrain where the Cathedral River originates
are exposed along an escarpment of at least
20 meters. The vertical columns, with
shrinkage cracks of hexagonal cross section
that make the rock exposures striking,
indicate that the volcanic lava flow
experienced rapid cooling. The columnar joints
have been likened to the posts in a cathedral,
hence, the name of the river.
Bedded Tuff in
Barangay Punta Blanca,
Manukan, Zamboanga
del Norte
The horizontally bedded rocks along the
coastline of Barangay Punta Blanca in
Manukan, Zamboanga del Norte, consist
mainly of slight to moderate compacted
tuffaceous sediments of the Pleistocene
(about 10 000 to 1.8 million years ago.)
Labangan Formation. Wave erosion has
created an irregular coastline with
embayments of various sizes.
Pebble Beach in Luna
and Bangar, La Union
The rounded and smoothed pebbles can be seen
along the several kilometers of coastline in the
Municipalities of Luna and Bangar in La Union
Province. Ranging from 10-100 mm in size
and in various shapes and colors, these pebbles
have been recognized for their decorative value,
both locally and internationally. They are
available in varying shades of green, red, brown,
gray, black, and white, They originated from
the pre-existing older volcanic and sedimentary
rocks in the highlands, drained by the
Amburayan River and its tributaries. The
Amburayan River, situated to the north-
northeast of the deposits, transports the
fragmented and tumbled rocks from the various
rivers to the La Union coast. The waves bring
the pebbles to the seafloors where their rolling
and circular motion further smoothen them.
Repeated storm surfes provide a supply of
pebbles to the beach of Luna and Bangar.
Aliwagwag Falls in
Barangay Aliwagwag,
Cateel, Davao Oriental
Aliwagwag River has at least a kilometer long
cascade of 84-tiered waterfalls underlain by
limestone. The tiers range in height from six to
110 feet with the tallest tiers being 67 and 72
feet and the total elevation difference from the
topmost tier to the lowermost one measuring
1,100 feet. The width of the river measures up
to about 60 feet. All of these features are set in
a lush virgin rainforest with a wide variety of
flora and fauna, including a fish believed by old
folks to be found only in Aliwagwag.
“Chocolate Hills” of
Western Visayas in San
Carlos City, Negros
Occidental
Similar to the mounds of Bohol in shape and
grassy vegetation, the Western Visayas version
of the Chocolate Hills in a zone of about a
kilometer long, is underlain by the Canlaon
Volcanic Complex. The hills are visible along the
Negros Transcentral Highway close to the
boundary of the Municipality of Don Salvador
Benedicto and San Carlos City. This plaque
states that they are eroded formations of a
type of marine limestone that sits on top of
hardened clay.
Bukilat Cave in
Barangay Mac Arthur,
Tudela, Camotes Island,
Cebu
Aside from the interesting stalactite and
stalagmite shapes, the Bukilat Cave has a
refreshing pool of brackish water that is
believed to have a curative effect from the
minerals derived from the solutions that drip
from the stalactites. The pool's brackish water
and the fluctuation of water level with the
rise and ebb of ocean tides indicate that the
sea water is sipping in from an underground
spring. Natural openings on the roof allow the
sunlight to illuminate and highlight the
impressive cave features and also allow easy
breathing inside the cave. The cave consists of
several chambers that have been carved
within the Pliocene to Pleistocene Carcar
Limestone Formation (about 10,000 to 5
million years ago)
Montalban Limestone
Gorge in Rodriguez,
Rizal
The Montalban Limestone Gorge, through which
the Wawa River flows, is formed by two
limestone mountains, namely Mt, Pamitinan in
the northland and Mt. Binicayan in the south.
The limestone that forms the mountains is part
of the Angat Rock Formation that was deposited
in a warm shallow sea about 25 million years
ago. The limestone resulted from the
accumulation of calcareous precipitates and
remains of reef-building marine organisms
(corals and algae) with abundant molluscan
fragments and bryozoan stems. The subsequent
tectonic forces subjected the limestone to
deformation and eventual uplift to it present
site. The continuous passage of rain and
groundwater along cracks and fractures of the
limestone caused the formation of solution
channels and caves.
Tinuy-an Falls in
Barangay Burbonan,
Bislig City
Near the headwaters of the Bislig River is a
three-tiered cascade that has made the
waterfalls earn the monicker “Little Niagara
of the Philippines” The waterfalls are sculpted
on sub-horizontally bedded sandstone-
siltstone-mudstone sequence of the Late
Oligocene to Early Miocene (about 20 to 25
million years ago) Bislig Formation. The water
cascading down the three tiered waterfalls
looks like a curtain of white froth that makes
the trip worth it.
Jagged Vertical
Limestone in Caramoan,
Camarines Sur

Discover the jagged vertical limestone rocks in

the island of Hunongan, off the eastern coast of
Caramoan, Camarines Sur. These karst features
developed on the massive Guijalo Limestone
that dates back to Middle Eocene (about 41 to
48 million years ago)
Moro Rock
Moro Rock is a dome-shaped granite
monolith. Common in the Sierra Nevada,
these domes form by exfoliation, the spalling
or casting off in scales, plates, or sheets of
rock layers on otherwise unjointed granite.
Outward expansion of the granite results in
exfoliations. Expansion results from load relief;
when the overburden that once capped the
granite has eroded away, the source of
compression is removed and the granite
slowly expands. Fractures that form during
exfoliation tend to cut corners. This ultimately
results in rounded dome-like forms
Navajo Sandstone
The sandstone was deposited in an arid erg on
the Western portion of the Supercontinent
Pangaea. This region was affected by annual
monsoons that came about each winter when
cooler winds and wind reversal occurred.
Percé Rock

The limestone itself formed more than 400

million years ago during the Devonian; today,
Percé Rock stands as an indicator of the vast
tectonic forces that raised the rock and
mainland from the seafloor, where it formed,
to its current position above sea level.
Split Apple Rock

Known as Split Apple Rock, the naturally

occurring rock formation is located just off
the coast between Kaiteriteri and Marahau in
Abel Tasman National Park. ... A more
scientific theory is that water seeped into a
crevice in the rock and then froze during an
ice age, expanding and thus splitting the
stone.