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Philiippines - MY COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE 1999 / 2000 MOUNT KANLA-ON - A Fabulous Volcano by Alfred Nigel Bruckner A B N C - NEWS & COMMENTARIES 
Mount K a n l a - o n 2,465 meters (8,088 feet) the highest peak in Central Philippines in the heart of "Sugarlandia". A fabulous volcano ! One of the many legends around Mount Kanla-on says that, long before the Spaniards landed in the island of Negros, there lived a warrior and galant Prince, Kanla-on, a son of King Suta, the ruler of mountains and wilderness. He was in love with Prinzess Marapara, a daughter of Datu Mandalagan, the ruler of the northern winds. On the day of their marriage, an intruder arrived - he was Silay-on, Prince of fishermen from Pulupandan. Because of jealousy, the two warriors clashed into a fierce fight. Silay-on was slain by Kanla-on, but Marapara also was accidentally hit and killed by a spear. Princess Marapara was burried, the spear thrusted into her burial ground. Mysteriousely, the spear turned itself into the stem of a plant with grass-leaves. A sweet juice could be extracted from it and so, the plant was called - S u g a r c a n e . Prince Kanla-on never married until he died and was burried admist the plains of sugarcane. A great mound of earth appeared in his burial ground until it grew into a tall and majestic mountain - Mount ..... K a n l a - o n . Native believe it is a sacred volcano, a dwelling place for spirits and that, within the mountain is the residence of Prince Kanla-on. Now and then, it is said, he gives utterance about his dissatisfaction with the world outside. In intervals of one, two or more years, Mount Kanla-on exhibits, more or less, vehement phreatic explosions, which are the result of hydrothermal disturbances - when cold water from outside get inside in the "hot" area of the vulcano. Comperable to the pressure valve of a steam-cooker or a boiler, steam is emitted via the crater, carrying old sedimentary ash, dust, sand, from the ground of the crater into the atmosphere. These events can happen any time without showing warning signs - reason to declare the area in a radius of four kilometers from the crater as "Permanent Danger Zone". P h i v o l c s Philippine Institute of volcanology and seismology - operates a permanent observation station on the east slope of the volcano, three kilometers west of Canla-on City. Measuring instruments there and on several points on the slope of Mount Kanla-on register explosions, harmonic tremors, low and high frequency erathquakes and other activities of the volcano. Phivolcs reports to the headquarter in Quezon City, Metro Manila, where decisions are made and actions taken, informations ans warnings are given - if records indicate increasing activities, which probably could lead to an eruption. Unlike in a phreatic explosion, in an eruption is material from "inside" of the volcano - magma, lava, rocks - carried out, mixed with surface material in the crater. In such a case, the two Negros Provincial Governments activate operational plans with necessary measures - inclusive evacuation of residents, particularly on the southern slopes of Mount Kanla-on. On the other hand, recurrent events of the volcano's activities remind us that we are living on a very young planet, which is still an ardent ball with a thin and fragile skin, cooled down only at the surface. Vulcanos and geysers are therefore the "over pressure valves" in it ..... Mount Kanla-on remains as one of the most active in the list of twenty active volcanos, out of round two hundred in the Philippines. Mount Kanla-on belongs to the so-called "Ring of Fire" within or surrounding the Pacific Ocean. Circa 25,000 hectar wilderness on the slopes of the volcano, overlapping the provincial boundary, are in the Mount Kanla-on Nature Park covering parts of Canla-on City, San Carlos City, Murcia, Bago City, La Castellana and - my home-place - La Carlota City. The Park is under custody of P A M B - Protected Area Management Board of Mount Kanla-on National Park Every last week of April, a one-week-long fiesta is celebrated in La Carlota City - P a s s a l a m a t on reason of "Thanksgiving" at the end of the milling season. More than the half of the Philippine sugar production comes from Negros. La Carlota City is home to one of the oldest "Central" called sugar factories. |
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 Alfred Nigel Bruckner Correspondent Travel Writer - Photographer Tourist Guide A B N C - NEWS & COMMENTARIES |
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