Cagayan Valley

Cagayan Valley Region II
Region
From left-to-right, top-to-bottom: Cagua Volcano; Bayombong Cathedral; Cape Engaño Lighthouse
Nickname(s): Tilapia Capital of the Philippines
Location in the Philippines
Coordinates: 17°37′N 121°43′E / 17.62°N 121.72°E / 17.62; 121.72Coordinates: 17°37′N 121°43′E / 17.62°N 121.72°E / 17.62; 121.72
Country	Philippines
Island group	Luzon
Regional center	Tuguegarao
Area
• Total	28,228.83 km2 (10,899.21 sq mi)
Population (2015 census)
• Total	3,451,410
• Density	120/km2 (320/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ISO 3166 code	PH-02
Provinces	5 Batanes Cagayan Isabela Nueva Vizcaya Quirino
Cities	4 Cauayan Ilagan Santiago Tuguegarao
Municipalities	89
Barangays	2,311
Cong. districts	10
Languages	Ilocano Ibanag Ivatan Itawis Gaddang Yogad Isinay Ilongot Tagalog English others

Cagayan Valley (Ilocano: Tanap ti Cagayan; Ibanag: Tana' nak Cagayan; Filipino: Lambak ng Cagayan) (designated as Region II) is an administrative region in the Philippines located in the northeastern portion of Luzon. It is composed of five provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino. The region has four cities: Cauayan, Ilagan, Santiago, and Tuguegarao.

Most of the region lies in a large valley in northeastern Luzon, between the Cordilleras and the Sierra Madre mountain ranges. The eponymous Cagayan River, the country's longest, runs through its center and flows out from its source in the Caraballo Mountains in the south to the Luzon Strait in the north, in the town of Aparri, Cagayan. The region encompasses the outlying islands of the Babuyan and Batanes to the north.

Cagayan Valley is the second largest region of the Philippines in terms of land area, second only to MIMAROPA.

Archaeology indicates that Cagayan has been inhabited for half a million years, though no human remains of any such antiquity have yet appeared. The earliest inhabitants are the Agta, or Atta, food-gatherers who roam the forests without fixed abodes. A large tract of land has lately been returned to them. The bulk of the population are of Malay origin. For centuries before the coming of the Spanish, the inhabitants traded with Indians, Malays, Chinese, and Japanese. In the nineteenth century the prosperity found in tobacco cultivation caused many Ilokano to settle here. Tobacco is still a major factor in the economy of Cagayan, though a special economic zone and free port has been created to strengthen and diversify the provincial economy.