Laguna de Bay

Where is Laguna de Bay?

Countries on its shores: the Philippines.

Largest lake of: the Philippines.

Middle of the lake: 14.38° N, 121.25° E

The story behind it

Its name means 'Lagoon of Bay', after the old town of Bay on its shore – but it is not a lagoon by the sea. It is a freshwater lake, and scientists think volcanoes and movements of the Earth's crust helped to form it. The lake is on average only about 2.5 metres deep, but at a place called Diablo Pass it reaches 20 metres. Twenty-one rivers flow in, and the water flows out through the Pasig River to Manila Bay. Talim Island is the largest island in the lake, and more people live there than on any other. The lake is one of the main sources of freshwater fish in the Philippines, and many fish are raised in pens. Some foreign fish, such as the janitor fish, escaped and now trouble the native fish. No other lake in the Philippines is as big as Laguna de Bay.

Find it on the globe

Laguna de Bay is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.