The
province is located in the eastern part of the Philippine Archipelago,
bounded on the north by the San Bernardino Strait, on the east by the
Pacific Ocean, on the west by the Samar Sea, and on the south by Samar.
It is composed of 24 municipalities and 569 barangays covering a
total land area of 3,692.9 square kilometers.
Catarman is the provincial capital and center
of trade and commerce. Northern
Samar is strategically located as the gateway to Visayas and Mindanao from
Luzon. It is 743 kilometers
from Manila and can be reached by 1 hour and 20 minutes plane ride to
Catarman or 14 hours bus travel through the Pan Philippine Highway passing
Bicol Region and traversing San Bernardino Strait via ferry boat in the
primary ports of San Isidro and Allen, from Matnog, Sorsogon.
The route to Mindanao is through Tacloban City, being connected to
Northern Samar by the famous San Juanico Bridge, via ferryboat in Liloan,
Southern Leyte to Surigao. In
the 2007 Census of Population, the province registered a total
population of 549,759, posting an average annual growth rate of 1.3
percent. Its population density is recorded at 149 persons per square kilometer. Majority speak Waray dialect, along with Inabaknon, which
is predominantly spoken in Capul Island. The province is endowed with metallic minerals such as copper, aluminum and bauxite which can be found particulary in Biri, Mapanas and San Isidro. Major
agricultural crops include coconut, abaca, palay, rootcrops and other
subsistence crops. Its rich fishing grounds produce spanish mackerel, grouper,
tuna, big-eyed scad, round scad, herring, anchovies and salmon.
Other aquatic products include cattlefish, crabs, shrimps, squid
and lobsters. Northern
Samar is famous for its natural rock formations found in Biri Island and
white silky sand beaches in San Jose and Lavezares.
A visit to the century old church in Capul Island brings you to the
16th century. Only
missionary fervour made possible the building of this church on this
island. |
