Coron Island

Coron Island
	Twin Lagoon, Coron Island
	Coron Island Location within the Philippines
Geography
Coordinates	11°55′45″N 120°14′30″E
Archipelago	Calamian Group of Islands
Adjacent to	Sulu Sea
Area	71 km2 (27 sq mi)
Length	20 km (12 mi)
Width	9 km (5.6 mi)
Highest elevation	600 m (2000 ft)
Administration
	Philippines
Region	Mimaropa
Province	Palawan
Municipality	Coron
Demographics
Population	2649 (2010)

Coron is the third-largest island in the Calamian Islands in northern Palawan in the Philippines. The island is part of the larger municipality of the same name. It is about 170 nautical miles (310 km) southwest of Manila and is known for several Japanese shipwrecks of World War II vintage. Because of its unique ecological features, the entire area is protected by several legal proclamations.

The island and surrounding fishing grounds are part of the ancestral domain of the indigenous Tagbanwa people, officially designated such on June 5, 1998. Known as Calis among the Tagbanwas and Coronians, its tribal chieftain is Rodolfo Aguilar I.

The island comprises two barangays of the municipality of Coron: Banuang Daan and Cabugao.

Geography

Partially between Busuanga and Culion islands, Coron Island faces the Sulu Sea and forms the eastern side of Coron Bay. It is about 20 kilometres (12 mi) long from north to south, and 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) at its widest point.

Part of the North Palawan Block, Coron Island is distinguished by its Late Triassic Coron Limestone.

There are 11 lakes nestled in the rugged terrain, of which three have underground connections to the sea. There are a few mangroves in coastal areas.

Diving

The area around the wrecks has rock formations which provide for snorkeling opportunities, with underwater visibility extending up to 80 feet (24 m). The water is often calm.

Coron is known for wreck diving Wreck dive sites are found in depths as shallow as 12 metres (39 ft) and as deep as 43 metres (141 ft). Wreck diving sites in Coron Bay include the Akitsushima, Irako, Kogyo Maru, Kyokuzan Maru, Okikawa Maru, Olympia Maru.

Dive sites around Coron include many different reef dive sites and "Günter's Cave", also known as Cathedral Cave because during a certain time of the day, the sun throws a beam of light through a hole in the cave ceiling, illuminating the inside. It is possible to surface in the cave, as the hole in the cave-ceiling allows fresh air to enter. The cave is named after Günther Bernert, who was part of the first dive group to explore the cave, after hearing from local fishermen about its existence.

Other points of interest

Ecotourism has long surpassed diving as the top draw to Coron Island in the last decade. With domestic tourism on the rise due to a rapidly growing middle class, Coron is one of the top destinations for Filipinos to add to their wish list, with Coron Island containing some of the most iconic.