Land Characteristics

Geographic Location/Coverage.  The Davao Gulf is located in the southeastern part of the Philippines (Figure 1), about 984 km south of Manila. It lies approximately between 6º7’ and 7º4.5’ north latitude and 125º11.5’ east latitude.  It is bounded by Davao City and the four provinces of Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley and Davao Orienta. It lies south of the wide flood plains of Davao del Norte and west of the adjacent provinces of Bukidnon and Cotabato.

The gulf has an area of 6,600 km2 and a coastline of approximately 500 km.  The average depth of the gulf is 17 m, volume approximately 112x109 m3.  The high mountain ranges of Sarangani Province in the west and south-west, the mountain ranges of Mt. Apo (the highest Philippine peak) in the north and north-west portion of the region, and the mountain ranges of Davao del Norte and Oriental in the eastern side, surround the gulf.   Within the gulf are the islands of Samal and Talikud.

Soils.  The surface soils of land surrounding the Davao Gulf are mostly clay and loam types that are well-suited for plantation crops (e.g. banana, pomelo, durian, and coconut), cut flowers and orchids.

Atmospheric Characteristics

The Davao region, which is generally free from typhoons, has a mean rainfall of 180.9 mm/yr that is evenly distributed throughout the year (PAGASA).  The mean annual temperature is 27ºC while mean humidity value is 82%. The prevailing wind direction is north during the operation of the north-east monsoon from October to May.  The south-west monsoon operates from June to September.  The mean speed rate during the two monsoon seasons is 16 km/hr.

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