Mount Halcon

Mount Halcon (Filipino: Bundok Halcon) and (Spanish: Monte Halcón) is the highest mountain in the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, with an elevation of 2,586 metres (8,484 ft) above sea level. It is the 23rd-highest peak in the Philippines and 37th-highest peak of an island on Earth.[1] Its steep slopes have earned it the reputation of being the most difficult mountain to climb in the country. The first documented ascent was made in 1906 by botanist Elmer Drew Merrill and a party of forestry and military personnel.[2]

Mount Halcon
Highest point
Elevation2,586 m (8,484 ft)
Prominence2,586 m (8,484 ft)
Listing
Coordinates13°15′00″N 120°59′00″E
Geography
Mount Halcon
Mount Halcon
CountryPhilippines
RegionMimaropa
ProvinceOriental Mindoro
City/municipalityBaco
Parent rangeMindoro mountain range

Inhabitants

Mount Halcon is home to the indigenous Alangan Mangyans.[3]

Flora and fauna

Its thick vegetation contains much flora and fauna, including the critically endangered Mindoro bleeding-heart which is endemic to the area,[4] and the stick insect Conlephasma enigma, which was first described in 2012.[5]

History

The mountain was also the location of a possible World War II Japanese holdout. Isao Miyazawa found evidence that his comrade Captain Fumio Nakahara was living there in 1957.[6] Another search in 1977 was called off due to Miyazawa contracting malaria.[7] In 1980, Miyazawa found Nakahara's hut, and the natives talked to him extensively about the foreigner.[8] However, Nakahara himself has never been spotted.

See also

References
  1. The highest mountains in the Philippines. Pinoy Mountaineer – Your Guide to Hiking in the country. 2008-02-02. . Retrieved 2011-09-15.
  2. Hay, Ida (1998). "E. D. Merrill, From Maine to Manila" (PDF). Arnoldia. 58 (1): 11–19.
  3. Alangan Mangyan. National Commission on Indigenous Peoples. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-02-13. Retrieved 2011-09-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link). Accessed on 2011-09-15.
  4. Mount Halcon. Birdlife International. . Accessed on 2011-09-15.
  5. Wakler, Matt (2012-09-04). "'Mystery' stick insect discovered". BBC. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  6. 宮沢, 功 (1957). "連載 サラリーマン男のロマン ミンドロ島戦友捜索奮戦記". 実業之日本. Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha. 83 (6): 102–105.
  7. Mainichi Shimbun, Mainichi News Compilation 1977, p. 900
  8. "Still fighting, 35 years after V-J day," Finger Lakes Times. April 10, 1980, p1
  • "The Last Last Soldier?," TIME, January 13, 1975
  • "Still fighting, 35 years after V-J day," Finger Lakes Times. April 10, 1980, p. 1.
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