Coron (island)

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Coron
Coron Island
Coron Island
Waters Sulu Lake
Archipelago Calamian
Geographical location 11 ° 56 '  N , 120 ° 14'  E Coordinates: 11 ° 56 '  N , 120 ° 14'  E
Coron (Island) (Philippines)
Coron (island)
length 20.1 km
width 9.4 km
surface 71 km²
Highest elevation 625  m
Residents 2500 (2007)
35 inhabitants / km²
main place Cabugao

Coron is the third largest of the Calamian Islands , which in turn is part of the Palawan Islands in the west of the Philippines .

In the north is the neighboring island of Busuanga . The island has an area of ​​71 km² and about 2,500 inhabitants (2007).

Coron is densely overgrown, even if the steep slopes of the karst mountains do not allow a dense tropical forest and predominantly house a maccia-like vegetation with a few low trees. It is exclusively inhabited by Tagbanuwa , who have achieved semi-autonomous status. The name Coron comes from their dialect and means something like "included". That included referred to their first settlement, which was protected by high mountains on three sides. The island of Coron is under nature protection and is a state-protected homeland of the indigenous people. This combined, semi-autonomous Coron Island Protected Area covers an area of ​​22,248 hectares.

The Coron Bay in the north of the island is famous for diving by a variety of Japanese shipwrecks.

The island consists of two municipal districts ( barangays ) of a total of 23 of the municipality of Coron (based on the neighboring island of Busuanga), with a population as of May 1, 2000:

  • Banuang Daan (546)
  • Cabuago (1696)

Historical report

When the American Pacific mail steamship "Korea" docked in Coron in 1912, Captain Thomas Maher asked the governor about some wooden huts for himself and his crew. Instead, he was recommended to prison. It was helpful to note that it was free of large cockroaches, lizards and mosquitoes. Maher recorded the somewhat amusing conversation in his notes: “I said, 'How could that be when the prison is full?'” “But no, Señors, it is only full during the day. At night we send the inmates home; keeping them in prison would only punish the family. You know, the Filippino loves fishing and cockfighting. They can only do that during the day and it is not possible in prison. ”In order not to cause further inconvenience for the crew, the governor finally sent the“ convicts ”on vacation for two weeks. Captain Maher wrote in his notebook: “The Filippinos are quite practical people in many things. Such decisions could never be made in America, as a huge amount of bureaucratic procedures would be required; maybe even an action by the Supreme Court. ”By then he would certainly have left again.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Coron Island Protected Area. In: pcsd.gov.ph. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, accessed July 30, 2016 .
  2. ^ Region IV - Southern Tagalog, Palawan ( Memento of February 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

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