 Aerial view of the island | |
.svg)  Sibuyan Island Location within the Philippines | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Sibuyan Sea |
| Coordinates | 12°23′8″N 122°33′41″E / 12.38556°N 122.56139°E |
| Archipelago | Romblon Group of Islands |
| Area | 445 km2 (172 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 2,058 m (6752 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Guiting-Guiting |
| Administration | |
| Region | Mimaropa |
| Province | Romblon |
| Municipalities | |
| Largest settlement | San Fernando (pop. 24,171) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 62,815 (2020) |
| Pop. density | 118.2/km2 (306.1/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | Sibuyanon (Romblomanon) |
| Additional information | |
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Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of 445 square kilometres (172 sq mi) and has a total population of 62,815, as of the 2020 census. The island has two prominent peaks, the highest is Mount Guiting-Guiting, with an elevation of 2,058 metres (6,752 ft), followed by Mount Nailog, which is 789 metres (2,589 ft) high. The people speak the Sibuyanon dialect of Romblomanon, a Visayan language.
Sibuyan has been dubbed by some local and international natural scientists as "the Galápagos of Asia", because it has remained in isolation from the rest of the world since its formation. Never in its geological history has it ever been connected with any part of the Philippine archipelago. Seismic forces pushed up a 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) peak from the Earth's crust, forming a series of smaller peaks and slopes. The peak is Mount Guiting-Guiting (literally means "the saw-toothed mountain", in reference to its jagged ridge). Because of the steep slopes, much of its original forest remains untouched, and the rest is the island as we find it today.
Primary forests cover 140 square kilometres (54 sq mi), which is 33% of the land area of Sibuyan. However, most of the lower altitude forest has been logged or is secondary. Mount Guiting-guiting Natural Park (equivalent to the IUCN category of National Park) was established to protect these forests, which are mainly in the centre and north of the island, and covers an area of 157 square kilometres (61 sq mi) out of Sibuyan's total area of 445 square kilometres (172 sq mi). The park features a scenic landscape with twin towering peaks set amidst closed canopy forests. Its forests remain largely intact, and include the entire elevational gradient from lowland dipterocarp forest (at 200 to 900 m) and mangroves, through montane forest (above 700 m) to mossy forest, heathland and montane grassland around the peaks.