Mount Data is a mountain located in the Cordillera Central mountain range rising to a height of 2,310 metres (7,580 ft) in the north of Luzon Island, Philippines.[2] It is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Baguio on the borders of the provinces of Benguet and Mountain Province along the Halsema Highway.[3][4] The mountain and surrounding area has been declared a national park since 1936. In 1940 the park was expanded to 5,513 hectares (13,620 acres).[5][1] The slopes of the mountain are covered with pine forests and mossy oak forests.[4]
The national park hosts five major rivers: the Chico, Ahin, Siffu, Abra, and Amburayan rivers. The Agno River also originates from Mount Data and flows through Benguet.[6] The reserve is also a watershed, which serves towns in Mountain Province, Buenget, and Ifugao.[7]
The mountain is the site of the Mount Data Peace Accord of 1986 between the government of the Philippines and the Cordillera People's Liberation Army.[8]
Fauna
Mount Data is formerly known for its great biological diversity and is a place that has long been in the attention of biologists. In 1895, the Englishman John Whitehead gathered a vast collection of mammals and birds from the mountain. This mammal collection was then donated to the British Museum. A research by zoologist Oldfield Thomas showed that many unknown species inhabit the area. Half a century later, a large collection of small mammals was collected by an expedition led by the Filipino biologist Dioscoro S. Rabor.[9] Some of these mammals are Carpomys melanurus (short-footed Luzon tree rat) and Carpomys phaeurus (white-bellied Luzon tree rat). In addition to several rare species of mammals, there are also some bird species like the Collocalia whiteheadi (Whitehead's swiftlet), which was only known then from a specimen that was caught during the expedition of John Whitehead on the mountain.[10]
Carpomys melanurus (greater dwarf cloud rat) was first found on Mount Data in 1896.[11]
See also
References
- ^ a b Cairns, Malcolm, ed. (2017). Shifting Cultivation Policies: Balancing Environmental and Social Sustainability. Oxfordshire: CABI. p. 720. ISBN 978-1-78639-179-7.
- ^ "Mount Data". Protected Planet. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
- ^ Grele, Dominique; Jouve, Lily Yousry (2003). 100 Resorts in the Philippines: Places with a Heart (2nd ed.). Mandaluyong City: Encyclea. p. 77. ISBN 971-91719-7-9.
- ^ a b "Mt. Province Travel Information". Asia Travel. Archived from the original on May 7, 2001. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- ^ Perera, Jayantha, ed. (2009). Land and Cultural Survival: The Communal Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Asia. Mandaluyong City: Asian Development Bank. p. 71. ISBN 978-971-561-801-4.
- ^ "Cordilleras Lose 500 Hectares of Forest Cover Yearly–Alvarez". Business Mirror. July 6, 2015. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ Quitasol, Kimberlie (June 13, 2016). "DENR Rejects Mt. Data Downgrade from Protected Park". Inquirer.net. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ De Mesa, Karl R. (September 20, 2011). "Cordillera Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Peace Accord". GMA News Online. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ Heaney, Lawrence R.; Balete, Danilo S.; Sarmiento, Joel; Alviola, Phillip (July 4, 2006). "Losing Diversity and Courting Disaster: The Mammals of Mt. Data National Park". Haribon Foundation. Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
- ^ Heaney, Lawrence R.; Balete, Danilo S.; Rickart, Eric A. (2016). The Mammals of Luzon Island: Biogeography and Natural History of a Philippine Fauna (illustrated ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 5–7. ISBN 978-1-4214-1837-7.
- ^ Field Museum (May 2, 2008). "Dwarf Cloud Rat Rediscovered After 112 Years". ScienceDaily. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
External links
Media related to Mount Data at Wikimedia Commons
