Sierra Madre (Philippines)

Sierra Madre
View south of the northern Sierra Madre from the peak of Mount Cagua in Cagayan
Highest point
Peak	Mount Guiwan
Elevation	1,915 m (6,283 ft)
Dimensions
Length	540 km (340 mi) North to south
Width	56 km (35 mi) east to west
Area	16,260 km2 (6,280 sq mi)
Geography
Sierra Madre Location of the center of the range in the Philippines
Country	Philippines
Province	Aurora Bulacan Cagayan Isabela Laguna Nueva Ecija Nueva Vizcaya Quezon Quirino Rizal
Region	Cagayan Valley Calabarzon Central Luzon
Range coordinates	16°3′N 121°35′E / 16.050°N 121.583°E / 16.050; 121.583
Borders on	Pacific Ocean

The Sierra Madre is the longest mountain range in the Philippines. Spanning over 540 kilometers (340 mi), it runs from the province of Cagayan down to the province of Quezon, forming a north–south direction on the eastern portion of Luzon, the largest island of the archipelago. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, Cagayan Valley to the northwest, Central Luzon to the midwest, and Calabarzon to the southwest. Some communities east of the mountain range, along the coast, are less developed and so remote that they could only be accessed by taking a plane or a boat.^[1]

The country's largest protected area, the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, is situated at the northern part of the range in the province of Isabela. The park is in the UNESCO tentative list for World Heritage List inscription. Environmentalists, scholars, and scientists have been urging the government to include the other parks within the Sierra Madre mountains for a UNESCO site that would encompass the entire mountain range from Cagayan to Quezon.^[2]