Manila Geography

Manila occupies flat delta ground where the Pasig river enters Manila Bay, on the island of Luzon.

Bay and river

Manila Bay is a large natural harbour some 60 kilometres across at its widest, almost enclosed by peninsulas, which is why every colonial power wanted it. The Pasig runs 25 kilometres from Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the country, through the middle of the city to the bay, dividing it north and south. It was the city’s highway for centuries and became biologically dead through the twentieth century; a long rehabilitation has brought some life back.

Low and sinking

Much of Metro Manila sits only a few metres above sea level on soft delta deposits, and groundwater extraction has caused parts of the northern and western fringes to subside by several centimetres a year — far faster than sea level is rising. Flooding is consequently chronic.

Density

The City of Manila proper packs over 1.8 million people into 43 square kilometres, which makes it among the most densely populated cities anywhere; the wider metropolitan area holds more than 13 million.

The West Valley fault

Runs through the eastern part of the metropolis and is capable of a major earthquake; planning scenarios for it are sobering and widely published.

Metro Manila

The capital is not one city but sixteen, plus a municipality, fused into a single built-up area of over 13 million people with no gaps between them. Manila proper is only a small part of it, and Makati, Quezon City and Taguig are separate cities with their own governments — which is why the metropolis has no single mayor and why coordinating anything across it, from traffic to flood control, is so difficult.

Reclamation

Large areas along the bay are made ground, with more proposed and contested.