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Dubbed as the "Mountain of Winds", Mt. Iraya stands majestically in the northern part of Batan Island in the province of Batanes. Witness Mount Iraya standing at an Elevation of 1,009m (3,310ft) bestowing upon it's majestic peak unto the people pondering upon. This volcano has been an attraction to many people since it mysteriously magnetize the hearts of the people drawing their attention to it's wide forest ranges suitable enough for hiking. From the peak, you can look unto the the endless sea and the boundless blue sky. The morphologically young Iraya volcano is the most prominent feature of the 20-km-long Batan island. It has a 1.5-km-wide summit crater largely filled by a younger cone that forms the present-day summit.
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There are three volcanoes on Batan Island. Iraya volcano is located in the north of the island and has been active since Late Pleistocene. Mahatao volcano is the oldest and was active until the late Miocene (ca. 5 million years ago), and forms the center of Batan Island. Matarem volcano in the south was active until about 2 million years ago (early Pleistocene). Iraya belongs to the Babuyan Segment, the least evolved of 4 segments of the Luzon volcanic arc. It has developed on the western part of the Philippine plate, where the South China oceanic and Eurasian plates are being subducted along the Manila Trench. Mt. Iraya is a very important landmark for the Ivatans, and is steeped in legend. Elder Ivatan folk say that whenever someone dear to the people departs, a ring of clouds forms around the mountain. Also, the elders speak of old eruption of Iraya, and points to the holes near the summit as the crater from which lava and steam spewed out. Culture aside, its geographic presence is imposing; it is seen throughout the whole island of Batan and elsewhere in the northern seas. Its rise of 1009 MASL, directly from the sea, is explained in terms of volcanism. According to geologists, Iraya is one of the 22 active volcanos in the Philippines, with its last eruption occuring in 1454. |
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