Abatan River
{{Short description|River in Bohol, Philippines}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Abatan River
| image = Abatan River 2.jpg
| image_size = 245px
| image_caption = Abatan River upstream
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| pushpin_map = Visayas#Philippines
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| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = Philippines
| subdivision_type2 = Region
| subdivision_name2 = Central Visayas
| subdivision_type3 = Province
| subdivision_name3 = Bohol
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| mouth = Maribojoc Bay (Cebu Strait)
| mouth_location = Cortes
| mouth_coordinates = {{Coord|9|42|50|N|123|51|40|E|dim:15000_region:PH_type:river|display=inline,title}}
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| basin_size = {{Convert|350|km2|abbr=on}}{{cite book |editor1-last=Villegas |editor1-first=Ramon N. |title=Tubod : the heart of Bohol |date=2003 |publisher=National Commission for Culture and the Arts |location=Manila |isbn=9718140360}}
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The Abatan River is a river in western Bohol, Philippines. The river winds through the towns of Catigbian, Antequera, Balilihan, and Maribojoc to its mouth at Cortes.{{cite web |title=The Abatan Life River Tour in Bohol |url=http://www.boholtourismph.com/antequera-abatan/ |website=official website of the Tourism Office of the Province of Bohol |publisher=Bohol Tourism Office |accessdate=December 4, 2017 |date=December 3, 2014}}
The river is navigable for up to {{convert|12|mi|order=flip}} for boats drawing 4 ft, and up to {{convert|15.5|mi|km|sigfig=2|order=flip}} for rafts.{{cite book |title=Census of the Philippine Islands – Volume I: Geography, History, And Population |date=1905 |publisher=United States Bureau of the Census |location=Washington |page=67}} Its name comes from the word abad which means to meet or to converge.{{cite web |last1=Salazar |first1=Marlet D. |title=Exploring Bohol’s Other River Towns |url=http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/10407/exploring-bohol%E2%80%99s-other-river-towns/ |website=Inquirer.net|publisher=Philippine Daily Inquirer |accessdate=December 4, 2017 |language=en |date=August 20, 2011}}
At its mouth, the river opens up to an estuary, which consists of a mixed mangrove and nipa swamp. It covers about {{convert|1000|acre}} and has 32 mangrove species growing in its estuary; as a result, it is one of the Philippines' most diverse mangrove forests and is the third largest riverine mangrove forest in Bohol; despite the presence of endangered plant and animal species, there are no conservation or protection efforts.{{cite web |author1=Marcel J. Middeljans |title=The species composition of the mangrove forest along the Abatan River in Lincod, Maribojoc, Bohol, Philippines and the mangrove forest structure and its regeneration status between managed and unmanaged Nipa palm (Nypa fruticans Wurmb) |url=http://edepot.wur.nl/327091 |publisher=Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences |accessdate=December 7, 2017 |date=August 2014}}{{cite web |title=Abatan River |url=https://www.seacology.org/project/abatan-river/ |website=www.seacology.org |publisher=Seacology |accessdate=December 4, 2017 |date=February 2016}}{{cite web |author1=Ric V. Obedencio |title=A first in the country: DENR mulls setting Abatan River eco-museum |url=http://www.philstar.com/region/2016/11/15/1643880/first-country-denr-mulls-setting-abatan-river-eco-museum |work=The Philippine Star |accessdate=December 4, 2017 |date=November 15, 2016}}
Historically prior to road construction, the river served as a waterway for the people going to and from the interior towns. Following the success of the Loboc River tours, there are river cruises from the Abatan River Visitor Center in Cortes to various communities upstream. Kayak exploration and stand-up paddle boarding are also available. The visitor center suffered severe damage from the 2013 Bohol earthquake.
During World War II, a ship in the United States Navy was commissioned: USS Abatan (AW-4), a Pasig-class distilling ship, was named after the river.{{cite web |title=Abatan (AW-4) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/abatan.html |website=www.history.navy.mil |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |accessdate=December 5, 2017 |date=July 9, 2015}}
Flora and fauna
The river basin is home to 273 plant species and 67 species of wild animals, as well as 8 species of fireflies, including Pteroptyx macdermotti which is very rare and endemic to the Philippines. The mangrove species Camptostemon philippinense (locally known as Gapas-gapas) is globally endangered and the rarest mangrove species in the Philippines.
The Abatan River estuary is home to the following true mangrove species (with local names in parentheses):
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- Acanthus ebracteatus (Diluario)
- Acanthus volubilis
- Acrostichum aureum (Lagolo)
- Acrostichum speciosum (Paku laot)
- Aegiceras corniculatum (Saging-saging)
- Avicennia marina (Bungalon)
- Avicennia officinalis (Api-api)
- Avicennia rumphiana (Piapi)
- Bruguiera gymnorhiza (Busain)
- Bruguiera parviflora (Langarai)
- Bruguiera sexangula (Pototan)
- Camptostemon philippinense (Gapas-gapas)
- Ceriops tagal (Tangal or Tungog)
- Ceriops zippeliana
- Cynometra iripa
- Dolichandrone spathacea (Tuwi)
- Excoecaria agallocha (Alipata or Buta-buta)
- Heritiera littoralis (Dungon late)
- Lumnitzera littorea (Tabau)
- Lumnitzera racemosa (Kulasi)
- Nypa fruticans (Nipa)
- Osbornia octodonta (Taualis)
- Rhizophora apiculata (Bakauan lalaki)
- Rhizophora mucronata (Bakauan babae)
- Rhizophora stylosa (Bakauan bato)
- Scyphiphora hydrophylacea (Nilad or Sagasa)
- Sonneratia alba (Pagatpat)
- Xylocarpus granatum (Tabigi)
- Xylocarpus moluccensis (Piagau)
}}
File:Abatan River in Maribojoc.jpg
Animal varieties include mudskippers, rats, fruit bats like the Large flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus), lizards like the mangrove skink (Emoia atrocostata) and water monitor (Varanus salvator), as well as ants, spiders and fiddler crabs. Snake species include the King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), which is locally known as Banakon, Samar cobra (Naja samarensis), locally known as Ugahipon, and the Philippine whipsnake, locally known as Hanlulukay (Dryophiops philippina). A new species of shipworm (Lithoredo abatanicus) was identified in the river in June 2019, locally known as Antingaw.{{cite news|author=University of Massachusetts at Amherst|author-link=University of Massachusetts Amherst|title=New species of rock-eating shipworm identified in freshwater river in the Philippines: International team of researchers studying biodiversity with an eye toward developing new drugs|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190619142551.htm|accessdate=July 10, 2019|work=ScienceDaily|publisher=ScienceDaily|date=June 19, 2019}}
See also
Other significant rivers in Bohol:
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Principal River Systems of the Philippines}}