Geography in Baguio City - Philippines

From the highway in the lowlands of Rosario, La Union, wed see huge mountains in the distance with tops covered by clouds. After a 45-minute car trek on sloping and winding roads wed be reaching a geography of plateau on top of mountains.

Baguio geography is basically sloping and rough terrain, all 49 square kilometers of this urbanized city. Well, there are portions rendered tolerable by man-made development, but majority of the geography still slopes, and many of them steeply. Some parts of the city proper are gently rolling hills.

Geography around Burnham Park and the football grounds is defined by plains with gradually ascending hills as the surrounding areas begin their gentle climbs. Roads like Session and General Luna and streets like Mabini, Claudio, Shugem, Shanum, Carino, and M.H. Del Pilar, among others, ascend from this plain. Among high points in the city proper are the Session Road Rotund and the SM Pines Hotel.

Hence, among the lures of this City of Pines are its steeply rolling hills reminding of the streets of San Francisco (minus the streetcars) and the sharp twist and turns of the zigzag roads like roller coaster rails. Vacationers always relish in the sights of many portions of the city overlooking other parts of the same, plus the nearby hills and distant mountains.

Most challenging slopes are those found on the roads going to Mines View Park, Lourdes Grotto, and Crystal Cave. The Zigzag curves are also especially pronounced going to the Philippine Military Academy. Teachers Camp has many gorges and steep hills.

Hills in the city are Engineers Hill, Quirino Hill, Upper Market, Leonila Hill, Holy Ghost Hill, and Aurora Hill, among others. Going up and down these places are an adventure in itself with the stiff climbs and sudden winding descents.

Baguio City is a plateau elevated 1500 meters high from the sea, with 5000 feet average elevation. It is protected by the surrounding massive and sprawling mountain ranges of the Cordilleras. In the early 1990s geography experts claimed the Baguio terrain was still young and yet in the process of natural erosion. This, according to them, explains why its geography is still mostly steep and rugged.

Accordingly, when a terrain is generally gently rolling like those of Antipolo hills in Rizal, it is likely to have settled and have stopped its natural erosion process. Thus, if these experts are right, Baguios general geography tells us more changes can be expected of it in the future. Meanwhile, Baguios geography remains an enigmatic attraction to many.