# Batan Island

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Island in Batanes, Philippines

This article is about the main island of [Batanes](/source/Batanes). For other uses, see [Batan](/source/Batan_(disambiguation)).

Not to be confused with [Bataan](/source/Bataan).

Batan Island Rakuh A Payaman Batan Island Location within Batanes Show map of Batanes Batan Island Batan Island (Luzon) Show map of Luzon Batan Island Batan Island (Philippines) Show map of Philippines Geography Location Luzon Strait Coordinates 20°25′17″N 121°57′37″E / 20.42139°N 121.96028°E / 20.42139; 121.96028 Archipelago Batanes Islands Adjacent to Balintang Channel Philippine Sea South China Sea Area 95.18 km2 (36.75 sq mi)[1] Length 20 km (12 mi)[2] Width 6.5 km (4.04 mi) at its widest Highest elevation 1,009 m (3310 ft)[2] Highest point Mount Iraya Administration Philippines Region Cagayan Valley Province Batanes Municipalities Basco Ivana Mahatao Uyugan Demographics Population 14,007 (2020 est.)[3] Pop. density 134/km2 (347/sq mi) Ethnic groups Ivatans Additional information

**Batan Island** ([/bɑːˈtɑːn/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) [*bah-TAHN*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key)[4]) is the main island of [Batanes](/source/Batanes), an [archipelagic](/source/Archipelago) [province](/source/Provinces_of_the_Philippines) in the [Philippines](/source/Philippines). It is the second largest of the [Batanes Islands](/source/Batanes_Islands), the northernmost group of islands in the Philippines.

## Geography

Batan is a dumbbell-shaped [volcanic island](/source/Volcanic_island), part of the [Luzon Volcanic Arc](/source/Luzon_Volcanic_Arc). The northern part of the island is dominated by the 1,009-meter (3,310 ft) high [active volcano](/source/List_of_active_volcanoes_in_the_Philippines), [Mount Iraya](/source/Mount_Iraya), which last erupted in 1454.[2] The lower portion of the island is the [inactive volcano](/source/List_of_inactive_volcanoes_in_the_Philippines) Mount Matarem, about 405 meters (1,329 ft) tall.[5][6] A hilly narrow neck of land, about 4.5 kilometers (2.8 mi) long and from 1.9 to 2.5 kilometers (1.2 to 1.6 mi) wide, separates the two volcanoes of the island. At around the vicinity of Mount Matarem, the island is at its widest at about 6.5 kilometers (4.0 mi).

[Sabtang Island](/source/Sabtang_Island), the nearest island to Batan is located about 4.5 kilometers (2.8 mi) southwest of the southern tip of the island. [Itbayat](/source/Itbayat_Island), the largest island of the archipelago, is about 32 kilometers (20 mi) northwest of the central part of Batan.

## Geology

The Batan Volcanic Complex includes the [Pliocene](/source/Pliocene) Matarem [composite volcano](/source/Composite_volcano) of [basalt](/source/Basalt) and [andesite](/source/Andesite) flows, 5.8 to 1.7 [Ma](/source/Megaannum), on the southern part of the island, and the [Quaternary](/source/Quaternary) Mt. Iraya [basalt](/source/Basalt) and [andesite](/source/Andesite) [lava](/source/Lava) flows on the northern part of the island. The central [isthmus](/source/Isthmus) has an [outcrop](/source/Outcrop) of [Late Miocene](/source/Late_Miocene) andesitic flows, 9 - 7 Ma. Western Mt. Iraya has a [pyroclastic flow](/source/Pyroclastic_flow) deposit dated 1,480 years [B.P.](/source/Before_present) including ash and [pumice](/source/Pumice). The periphery of Mt. Matarem includes [lahar](/source/Lahar) and [tuffaceous](/source/Tuffaceous) deposits. The [Miocene](/source/Miocene) Batan [Group](/source/Group_(stratigraphy)) are [sedimentary](/source/Sedimentary) rocks that includes the Liguan, Caracaran and Bilbao [formations](/source/Formation_(geology)). The [Middle Miocene](/source/Middle_Miocene) Bilbao [limestone](/source/Limestone) overlies the [Early Miocene](/source/Early_Miocene) Caracaran [siltstone](/source/Siltstone), which overlies the Liguan limestone. The Liguan and Bilbao include [coal measures](/source/Coal_measures) up to 300 meters thick.[7][8]

## History

### Japanese invasion

The [Japanese invasion of the Philippines](/source/Philippines_campaign_(1941%E2%80%931942)#Initial_landings) began with the [invasion of Batan Island](/source/Japanese_invasion_of_Batan_Island) by a 490-man naval combat unit and a number of air corps troops aboard two transports escorted by one destroyer and four torpedo boats. This was the first landing on American territory, which transpired on the same day as the [attack on Pearl Harbor](/source/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor).[9]

Japanese forces quickly secured the existing small airfield outside Basco without resistance and began expansion work immediately as a forward base of operations against [Luzon](/source/Luzon). Work was discontinued only a few days later as the success of the Japanese bombing of [Clark Field](/source/Clark_Field) rendered an airfield in Basco redundant. On 10 December 1941, the naval combat force was redeployed.[10]

## Governance

Four of the six [municipalities](/source/Municipalities_of_the_Philippines) of Batanes are located on the 20-kilometer (12 mi) long island including the provincial capital of [Basco](/source/Basco%2C_Batanes). The other municipalities are [Ivana](/source/Ivana%2C_Batanes), [Mahatao](/source/Mahatao) and [Uyugan](/source/Uyugan).

## Gallery

		- The hilly landscape of Batan Island with Mount Matarem in the distant left

		- Mount Iraya

## See also

- [Ivatan language](/source/Ivatan_language)

- [List of islands of the Philippines](/source/List_of_islands_of_the_Philippines)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-psgc_1-0)** ["Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) - Province: BATANES"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180418161140/http://nap.psa.gov.ph/activestats/psgc/province.asp?provCode=020900000). *nap.psa.gov.ph*. Philippine Statistics Authority. Archived from [the original](http://nap.psa.gov.ph/activestats/psgc/province.asp?provCode=020900000) on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gvp_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gvp_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-gvp_2-2) ["Iraya"](http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0704-06-). [Global Volcanism Program](/source/Global_Volcanism_Program). Retrieved on 2013-04-11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-PSA15–02_3-0)** Census of Population (2015). ["Region II (Cagayan Valley)"](https://psa.gov.ph/system/files/phcd/2022-12/R02.xlsx). *Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay*. [Philippine Statistics Authority](/source/Philippine_Statistics_Authority). Retrieved 20 June 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** *Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary*, 3rd ed. ([ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87779-546-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87779-546-0); Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., 1997), p. 119.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Inactive Volcanoes Part 5"](http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=424:inactive-volcanoes&catid=55&Itemid=117). [Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology](/source/Philippine_Institute_of_Volcanology_and_Seismology). Retrieved on 2013-04-11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Mount Mataram"](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=mount+matarem,+Philippines&hl=en&ll=20.39264,121.943914&spn=0.027233,0.046949&sll=27.698638,-83.804601&sspn=13.148142,24.038086&t=t&hnear=Mt+Matarem&z=15). Google Maps. Retrieved on 2013-04-11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Pena, Rolando (2008). *Lexicon of Philippine Stratigraphy 2008*. Mandaluyong City: the Geological Society of the Philippines, Inc. pp. 45–46, 49–50, 88, 169. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9789719423119](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789719423119).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Reyes, Rolando (2005). ["An approach in determining the baseline data on the natural background radioactivity of Natanes Province, its implications to national security"](https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/39/063/39063298.pdf?r=1) (PDF). *IAEA*. National Defense College of the Philippines. Retrieved 21 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["The First Landings"](http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-PI/USA-P-PI-6.html). Retrieved 18 March 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["The First Landings"](http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-PI/USA-P-PI-6.html). Retrieved 18 March 2014.

## External links

- Media related to [Batan Island](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Batan_Island) at Wikimedia Commons

Authority control databases International VIAF National Japan

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Batan Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batan_Island) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batan_Island?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.