Geography
Davao Region is located in the Southern portion of the island of Mindanao and lies between 5°20" and 9°30" north latitude and 124°20"and 126°35" east longitude. It is bounded on the north by the provinces of Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Norte; on the south by the Davao Gulf and Celebes sea; on the east by the Philippine Sea, and on the west by the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

Geology and Morphology
The eastern part of Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental comprising the Diwata Range and the Pujada Peninsula to the south which form part of the Eastern Mindanao highland, is generally composed of cretaceous to paleogene volcanic arc overlain by younger sediments and limestone. Lying directly to the south is the Pujada Peninsula, which is composed of Ophiolitic rocks with chromite-bearing dunitic phase and garnet amphibolites overlain by younger sediments.

The Mindanao Central Cordillera, where Davao del Sur and eastern part of South Cotabato are located, separates the Agusan-Davao lowlands from the Western Mindanao Highlands. It is generally underlain by crystalline metamorphic rocks of pre-cretaceous age and by cretaceous to tertiary rocks partly covered by quarternary volcanics from Mts. Apo, Talomo and Boribing, which represent recent volcanic centers.

The older volcanic and sedimentary rocks were intruded by peridotite, gabrro and diorite, which commonly occur along the axis of cordillera and form part of the Mindanao Central Cordillera Belt.

Morphologically, Region Xl forms part of the Eastern and Central Physiographic Provinces. The north-south trending Diwata Range extends from Surigao to Davao which forms the backbone of eastern Mindanao falls under the Eastern Physiographic Province. The Diwata Range is rugged and has several peaks with elevation from 900 to 2,500 meters. The highest point, Mt. Kampalili, is in the Southern part of the range. The western part of the range separated by the Philippine Fault on the eastern side of Agusan-Davao lowlands has steep slopes. The eastern side slopes steeply into the Philippine Trench. The eastern coastline is very irregular with high promontories between bay, wide estuaries and relic channels of streams and valleys.

The Central Physiographic Province is bounded on both sides by mountain ranges. It is composed of cordilleras, lowlands, troughs and small offshore basins. Included under this province are the Agusan- Davao lowlands, the Mindanao Central Cordillera, Cotabato Valley and Daguma Range. The Agusan-Davao lowlands, occupied by Agusan del Sur and Davao del Norte provinces, is a north-south trending structural valley having a dimension of about 190 kms. long and 45 kms wide. It is located between Diwata Range and Mindanao Central Cordillera. It is generally flat and poorly drained. The western hills merge with the eastern slopes of the Mindanao Central Cordillera.

The Mindanao Central Cordillera extends 390 kms. north-south. Davao del Sur and the eastern part of South Cotabato fall under this physiographic province. Mt. Apo (elevation 2,965 m), the highest peak in Mindanao, is on the southern part of this cordillera. This inactive volcanic cone and mountains nearby gradually slope to the north and northeast but descend abruptly on the west to Cotabato Valley which is 35 kms long and has an average width of 25 kms.

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Topography, Slope Aspects and Elevation
The Region is characterized by extensive mountain, ranges, basins with uneven distribution of plateaus, swamps and lowlands. The lowlands represent about 25% of the total land area and characterized by 0-8% slope. The uplands constitute about 16 % of the total regional land area, characterized by slope 8-18 % which include residual terraces, foot slopes, plateaus and low hills.

The hilly/mountain lands within 500 meters elevation and with slope greater than l8% cover about 22% of the total land area while the steep hills and mountain ranges with an area that covers 23 % of the land area constitute the 30 - 50 % slope classification. Davao Oriental has the largest hillylands of about 240,392 hectares while, the highlands or mountainuous areas are mostly found in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley provinces comprising about 335,272 hectares. About 15% of the total land area are categorized 50% slope.

Generally, the slopes in the region are classified into 5 categories. An estimated area of 491,795 hectares that fall under 0-8 percent; 314,749 hectares under slope 8-18 percent; 432,780 hectares under slope 18-30 percent; 432,782 hectares under slope 30-50 percent; and 295,077 hectares with slope over 50 percent.

Soil Classification and Erosion Susceptibility
Soil in the Region is classified as dark brown to reddish brown and reddish brown to dark grayish brown. Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley and Davao del Sur have the same soil classification. It is dark brown to light reddish brown, slightly compact, columnar clay loam with few boulders present. Generally, its composition is silty clay loam.

Approximately 84.65 percent of the total land areas of the region have been subjected to various forms of erosion. Notably, the affected areas are those with slope of 18 percent and above.

Land Classification, Land Use and Land Cover
Of Region Xl's 1,967,183 hectares land area, 785,511 hectares are classified/certified alienable and disposable while 1,181,672 hectares constitute forestlands (Land Classification by Province/City).

Watersheds
There are thirty two (32) watershed areas strategically located in the four (4) provinces of the region. The Physiology of this ecosystem which is generally mountainous to rolling have made it susceptible to erosion particularly in areas with extensive opening of the canopies and soil disturbances due to timber and minor forest products extraction. Three (3) of these areas are proclaimed watersheds specifically located in the provinces of Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley and Davao del Sur.

Surface and freshwater Information
Inland waters in the region consist of rivers, lakes and wetlands which constitutes marshes, mangroves and saltbeds. Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley Provinces have the largest share of wetlands in the region.

Even freshwater system is not spared from the wanton actions of man and even from natural disasters. But some of these are already developed while some are currently undergoing different stages of development either for irrigation, power generation, domestic and industrial water supply for flood control purposes, or aquaculture and fishpond industry.

General Groundwater Information
Kaingin and denudation of the watershed areas contribute to some extent to the deteriorating status of streams and ground waters in the region. In spite of the interventions being conducted at present, and if not given utmost consideration, our rate of reforestation still cannot cope with deforestation.

Reduction or underground storage capacity is now being felt especially in highly urbanized areas. This is caused by heavy pumping in high-water table areas by various industries operating in the region.

Industries in the Region have been encouraged to employ waste minimization and reduction methods at the source in addressing their water pollution contribution as a result of their operation.

Coastal and Marine Resources
The Region is also characterized by four (4) major bays/gulf, namely: Davao Gulf, Pujada Bay, Mayo Bay and Cateel Bay. It has 262 coastal barangays, 38 coastal municipalities and 2 cities stretching 1,337 kilometers of coastline. Of these, 14 municipalities with a coastline of 453 kilometers have been covered by CEP/CRMP projects in the provinces of Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur.

Twenty four (24) kilometers of these coastal municipalities covering a stretch of 884 kms. are wanting of development and rehabilitation. There are about 2,465.5 square kilometers of coral reef area and 57% of these are surveyed to be in good to excellent condition while 43% are in fair to poor condition.

Of the estimated 406,529 hectares swampland areas, only about 3,823 hectares is mangrove forest cover. 1,897 hectares of which are found in Davao Oriental. A large chunk of the swampland area therefore, is denuded. The factors that contributed to such denudation are indiscriminate conversion of mangrove forest into fishpond and uncontrolled cutting for firewood. The second factor can be attributed to the problem of poverty among the coastal communities due to lack of viable livelihood option. It is also through the aforementioned factors that depletion of fishery resources due to over fishing and destructive fishing practices caused havoc to the coastal ecosystem.

General Climate Type
Region Xl's climate belongs to the number 3 and 4 climatic conditions where there is no dry season with pronounced rainfall from November to December. It is also characterized by different climatic elements with uniform annual distribution. These elements (rainfall, temperature, humidity, air pressure, etc.) make production of most perennial agricultural crops and livestock suitable in all its areas.

The northern monsoon rains occur during the months of December and January, affecting all Davao Provinces. These rains gradually weaken in the late February until March. The Southeast monsoon rains and the south trade-winds bring substantial rainfall from June to October to almost all parts of the region.

Average rainfall ranges from 836 mm to 4,480 mm with an average annual temperature of 26o C in the lowland. Relative humidity varies from 76% to 90%.

Air Quality
Davao City and the four (4) Component Cities serve as the centers of business and economic hub in the region. The built-up areas which consist primarily of residential, commercial, institutional and industrial became the source of environmental problems brought about by the activities of urbanization.

One of the significant activities constantly coordinated in the region with regard to air management was on the measurement of the concentration level of air pollutants, namely: Nitrogen Dioxide, Total Suspended Particulates and Mercury. Concentration of Nitrogen Dioxide in the ambient air is relatively low that it does not pose any danger to human health.

At instances when mercury concentration are quite high, it can be concluded that either pollution control devices are inefficient or there are individuals who are processing gold illegally. For total suspended particulates, the air quality index in the region falls from fair to good.