Igbon (Balubadiangan) Island lies about 2 miles eastward of the south end of Tago Island. It is well wooded and 774 feet (236 m.) high. The northern and southwestern parts are fringed by steep-to coral reefs; the remainder of the shore line is clean and steep-to.

Bulubadiangan and Dunao are two small islets lying off the south end of Igbon Island. Bulubadiangan, the western islet, is 220 feet (66 m.) high, and Dunao, the eastern one, is 92 feet (28 m.). Between these two islets good but contracted anchorage may be found for small craft.

Baliguian Islet is a small, low, heavily wooded islet lying 9 miles eastward from Igbon Island. It is fringed by a narrow reef and surrounded by deep water. It is thickly covered with trees, the tops of which appear like solid land from a distance. This islet is a good natural mark for vessels making Iloilo Strait from northward or eastward to clear the numerous shoals along the route. A flashing white light, visible 15 miles, is shown from a white, steel tower on the northwest point. There is a small, 2-fathom (3.6 m.) patch surrounded by deep water 2 miles southward of the islet.

Apiton Pass is the southern termination of the inside route to Iloilo from the northward. It is clear and deep, with the exception of a small 34-fathom (5.9 m.) patch, and the shores on either side are steep-to. Mount Apiton, forming the northern side of the pass, is a bold, round headland 1,416 feet (432 m.) high. A small 314fathom (5.9 m.) shoal lies in the northern end of Apiton Pass 1 mile westward of the south end of Bulubadiangan Islet.

Tagubanhan Island, lying a little less than 1 mile southeastward from Mount Apiton, forms the south side of Apiton Pass. It is well wooded and 980 feet (299 m.) high. The shores are fringed by a very narrow steep-to reef. A small 32-fathom (6.4 m.). shoal lies 1 mile south-southwestward of the south end of Tagubanhan Island. There is a good, deep channel between this shoal and Tagubanhan Island.

Anauayan Islet, nearly 2 miles eastward of the southern end of Tagubanhan Island, is very small, clear, steep-to, and 178 feet (54 m.) high. The channel between it and Tagubanhan Island is deep and clear.

Binanan Island, just southwestward of Mount Apiton, is nearly round and 440 feet (134 m.) high. It is connected with the mainland by extensive mangrove swamps and mud flats bare at low water. Apiton Cove, on the eastern side of the island, is small and shoal and of no particular value. The southern side of Binanan Island is clean and steep-to.

From Binanan Island the coast trends westward for 4 miles and then curves southward for 41/2 miles to Malauig Balas Point, forming a large shoal bay, the head of which is known as Ajui Bay.

The village of Ajui lies in the northwest angle of Ajui Bay, about 1/2 mile above the mouth of the river of the same name. Shoal water extends 2 miles southeastward from the mouth of the Ajui River and surrounds Salog Islet.

Salog Islet, lying in the entrance to Ajui Bay, is very small and wooded, 175 feet (53 m.) high, and surrounded by a large reef bare at low water.

Buri Islet is a small islet, 160 feet (49 m.) high, 11⁄2 mile southward, and similar to Salog Islet. There are a few inhabitants on both of them. The pearl banks of Ajui are off these islets, and during the season large numbers of divers make their headquarters here. Nasiducang and Bayang are two small unimportant islets lying 12 and 24 miles southwestward of Buri Islet and 1 mile from shore; they are both surrounded by reefs.

Nasidman Island, 138 feet (42 m.) high, is a narrow island 34 mile from shore at the southern entrance to Ajui Bay. It is surrounded by a reef, leaving a 612-fathom (11.9 m.) channel between it and the Panay coast.

Calabazas Island is a small, wooded island lying 1/4 mile eastward from Nasidman Island. A group flashing white light, visible 16 miles, is shown from a white, cylindrical tower with gray trimmings on the southern end of Calabazas Island.

Pepitas Rocks are a cluster of black rocks 2% miles southwestward of Calabazas Lighthouse. They are nearly always visible, but are covered at the highest tides. They are covered by a fixed red sector of Calabazas light, visible 41⁄2 miles.

Turia Rock is a small, dangerous rock with 1/2 fathom (0.9 m.) 5 miles east-southeastward of Calabazas Lighthouse. This rock does not show except when close to it, and the sea does not break over it any heavier than for several miles around it. It is marked off its northern side by a horizontally striped buoy. Vessels should give this buoy a berth of about 11⁄2 mile. A small, rocky patch, with a least depth of 24 fathoms (4.6 m.), lies 1⁄4 mile northeastward of Turia Rock.

From the southern entrance to Ajui Bay the coast trends southwestward for 14 miles and then southward with a curve eastward for 12 miles to Dumangas Point, on the northern side of the entrance to Iloilo Strait. The first half of this section is indented by five bays, Culasi, Pedada, Cañas, Barotac, and Banate, all of which are shoal and of little value to navigation. These bays are separated by high, prominent headlands, which are clear and steep-to.

Culasi Bay, westward of Nasidman Island, between Bugtung Bato and Danao Points, is very small and shoal. The village of Culasi lies at the head of Culasi Bay.

Pedada Bay, just southwestward from Culasi Bay, between Nautin and Pedada Points, has a depth of 3 fathoms (5.5 m.) at the entrance and shoals gradually toward the head. There are no villages on the shore of this bay.

Mount Bayang, 728 feet (222 m.) high, is the summit of a peninsula separating Pedada and Cañas Bays. This peninsula is connected with the mainland by a mangrove swamp, through which is a boat channel passable at high water.

Cañas Bay, between Bayang and Bubug Points, has a depth of 5 fathoms (9.1 m.) at the entrance and shoals gradually toward the head. The villages of San Fernando and Santiago lie on the shore of Cañas Bay.

Mount San Nicolas is the summit of the headland separating Canas and Barotac Bays. It is well wooded, 1,063 feet (324 m.) high, and is prominent.

Barotac Bay, immediately westward of Mount San Nicolas, between Bagalayog and San Juan Points, is 5 fathoms (9.1 m.) deep at the entrance and shoals gradually toward the head. The village of Barotac Viejo lies on the Barotac River, about 1 mile inland from the head of the bay, and there are several small, unimportant villages lying on its shores.

San Juan Point, the southwestern entrance point to Barotac Bay, is a small, prominent headland 197 feet (60 m.) high. About 5% mile southwestward of San Juan Point is a rock 2 feet (0.6 m.) high lying on a small shoal, with depths of 24 to 32 fathoms (4.1 to 6.4 m.).

Banate Bay is a large shoal bay lying southwestward of San Juan Point. The town of Banate lies at its head. There is a depth of 3 fathoms (5.5 m.) 1 mile southward from the town, from which position the water shoals gradually toward the shore.

From Banate Bay to Dumangas Point the shores are low, fringed with mangroves, intersected by a number of small, unimportant streams and fronted by shoal water to a distance of 211⁄2 miles.

A red buoy marks the eastern edge of the shoal water about 21⁄4 miles southeastward from Bacay Point.

Tomonton Shoal, off Tomonton Point, Negros, extends 3 miles northwestward and has little depth. A black gas buoy marks its northwestern extremity. Immediately inside of the buoy is a depth of 11⁄2 fathoms (2.7 m.).

The flood tide in Iloilo Strait passes to the north as far as Pan de Azucar, approximately, where it meets the other branch of the flood tide coming from northward. The ebb stream runs in the opposite direction-i. e., southward in Iloilo Strait and northward, north of Pan de Azucar. The velocity in the strait reaches 3 to 4 knots at spring tides. Between Tomonton Point and Iloilo Strait a slight westerly set at all seasons is reported.

NORTH COAST OF NEGROS

Negros, between the islands of Panay and Cebu, is 118 miles long in a north and south direction and varies in width from 22 to 49 miles. It is the fourth in size in the Philippines, having an area of 4,881 square statute miles and is divided into two Provinces, Occidental and Oriental Negros. Its coast is very little broken by bays or inlets and contains no harbors suitable for large vessels. The rivers are small and unfit for navigation except by small craft. A central chain of mountains runs through its entire length. Canlaon Volcano, about 20 miles southeastward of Bacolod, is 7,995 feet (2,437 m.) high, and is probably the highest point on the island. This island is reported to produce the best cacao grown in the Visayas, also sugar, tobacco, rice, and lumber, but owing to the lack of good harbors most of the produce finds its way to market through Manila, Iloilo, and Cebu.

Extending from Sagay Point, the northeast extremity of Negros, for 25 miles in a northeast direction, is a chain of 36 islands. The greater part of these islands lies on one great reef, leaving two good channels between them and Negros. In addition to this reef are several detached reefs which are described on the following page.

Bantayan Island, the largest and northern island of the abovementioned group, lies with its southern extremity 17 miles northeastward of Negros. It is fringed on all sides by reefs, outside of which are several detached shoals. From the southern extremity of the island reefs baring at low water extend 10 miles and surround numerous small islands. Bantayan Island for the first 3 miles southward from its northern end is level and only about 20 feet (6.1 m.) high, then rises abruptly to 295 feet (90 m.), and then slopes gradually toward the south end. Bantayan and adjacent islands are practically self-supporting and have little intercourse with the remainder of the Philippines. Fish are plentiful and, together with corn, are the main support of the people; very little rice is imported and scarcely any grown.

Bantayan, the largest town on the island, is on the southwest coast on a point of land projecting southward; it is separated from the main shore by a mangrove swamp. It can not be approached within less than 1 mile except at high water, and then only by small native sailing craft drawing less than 62 feet (2 m.), which is the range of the tide. The prominent marks of the town are the church, detached bell tower, and the municipal building; the church shows red and the two latter white.

Directions.-Vessels desiring to communicate with the town of Bantayan can find good anchorage in 22 to 3 fathoms (4.6 to 5.5 m.), with the church bearing 115° (SE. by E. % E. mag.), distant about 15% miles. The principal obstruction in the approach to this anchorage is Perla Reef, a small coral reef which bares about 1 foot (0.3 m.), 234 miles west-northwestward of Bantayan Church. It is steepto and may be passed on either side at a distance of 1/4 mile. Bantayan Anchorage may be entered by steering 130° (SE. 12 E. mag.) from a position 2 miles westward from Patao Islet, keeping the middle of Panangatan Islet, the nearest islet to the town, in range with a large tree on Bantayan Island. This range carries a vessel about 3 mile eastward from Perla Reef, and the least water found on it is 22 fathoms (4.6 m.). When Perla Reef is visible, vessels may pass southward from it, anchoring in 42 fathoms (8.2 m.), when it bears 316° (NW. mag.), or proceed farther eastward and anchor as previously recommended.

Don Islands are a group of five small islands, Botiquis, Doong, Lipayran, Mambacayao, and Yao, which begins about 311⁄2 miles southwestward of Bantayan Island and extends in the order named 611⁄2 miles in a southwesterly direction. All of these islands with the exception of Yao lie on the same reef, parts of which bare at low water. Between the Don Islands and Bantayan are 15 or 16 small islands which lie on the same reef as the Don Islands. There are no navigable channels between them.

Yao Islet, the southwestern of the Don Islands, is very small and heavily wooded with large trees, the tops of which are 120 feet (37 m.) high. It is clean and steep-to and can be rounded in safety at a distance of 1/4 mile. The channel between Yao and Mambacayao, the next island eastward of it, is about 1/4 mile wide and has 8 and 9 fathoms (14.6 and 16.4 m.) in the middle. The channel between Yao and Molocaboc Island, lying 4 miles southward of it, is deep and clear. Yao Islet forms a very prominent landmark for vessels passing northward of Negros and westward of Bantayan.

Kept on a 91° (E. mag.) bearing, it leads nearly midway between Maca and Panal Reefs and kept on a 181° (S. mag.) bearing it leads 1/2 mile eastward of Doong Reef.

Doong Reef is a large reef, which bares about 212 feet (0.8 m.) at low water, lying 32 miles west-southwestward of Lutungan Island. The channel between Doong Reef and the reefs extending westward from Lutungan Island is about 1 mile wide between the 5-fathom (9.1 m.) curves and has a depth of 10 fathoms (18.3 m.) in the middle.

A small, dangerous, coral patch with a least depth of 134 fathoms (3.2 m.) and surrounded by deep water lies 2 miles southeastward of Yao Islet. A rock awash lies about 134 miles southwest of the town of Santa Fe and about 3/4 mile offshore.

Silion and Jilantangan are two small islands off the east coast of Bantayan Island. They are fringed by narrow reefs, leaving a good channel between them and also between them and Bantayan. Silion Island, the northern and smaller island, is low and flat, 20 feet (6.1 m.) high, and uninhabited. Jilantangan is 140 feet (43 m.) high and steep at the northern end and slopes away to the southern end, where there is a small village; it is covered by a few large trees and by cornfields.

Doha Shoal is a small shoal with a least depth of 2 fathoms (3.6 m.) and surrounded by deep water, lying about midway between Jilantangan and Guintacan Islands.

Molocaboc, Diutay, and Matabas are three small, low, wooded islands lying on the same reef about 22 miles northeastward of Sagay Point. The reef bares at low water and is steep-to. Molocaboc, the eastern and largest of these islands, contains three villages; the other islands are uninhabited.

Asuncion Pass, the channel between Sagay Point and the abovedescribed group, has a navigable width of over 1 mile and a depth of 15 fathoms (27.4 m.) in the middle.

Sagay Point, the northeastern extremity of Negros, is low and composed almost entirely of mangroves; there is a little solid ground on the eastern side of the point at the village of Panalsagon. Sagay Point is fringed by a reef bearing at low water 1/4 mile on the northern side and over 1 mile on the eastern.

Mount Solitario, 8 miles southward of Sagay Point, and about 6 miles westward of the mouth of the Danao River, is a prominent, conical-shaped, wooded peak 1,119 feet (341 m.) high. It forms a good landmark, being easily recognized and visible from northward and eastward of Negros. Mount Solitario and the Pan de Azucar are very valuable landmarks for vessels navigating the reef-strewn water northward from Negros.

From Sagay Point the coast trends in a general west-by-north direction for 19 miles to Ilacaon Point, the northern extremity of Negros. This coast is low, generally fringed with mangroves, intersected by a number of streams, and faced by dangerous shoals and reefs, partly bare at low water.

Talusan Bay is an open area in the mangrove swamp on the southwest side of Sagay Point, which can be entered by light-draft vessels at high water. There is a narrow basin in the southwest part where small craft lie while loading firewood.