Abra, a Spanish word
meaning "a place surrounded by mountains" or "a
valley," is located in the northern part of the island of Luzon,
bounded in the north by the provinces of Ilocos Norte and Apayao, in the
east by the provinces of Kalinga and Apayao, in the south by the
provinces of Mt. Province and Ilocos Sur, and in the west by the
provinces of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte.
It is a landlocked area
surrounded by the Cordillera Mountain Ranges in the north, east, and
south, and the Ilocos Mountain Ranges in the north and west. The
mountain ranges run parallel in doubles or triples in some areas.
Some of the mountains are inactive volcanoes, producing hot
springs. Hills and mountains are numerous because the Ilocos and
Cordillera are standing atop of the Philippine fault line.
Streams from the
mountains form rivers, and the prominent ones are the Malibcong and
Ikmin rivers in the east, the Luba river in the south coming from Mt.
Data in the Mountain Province, which joins the Malanas and Tineg rivers
from the north in forming the Abra river in Gaddani, Tayum, and then
passing between the towns of San Quintin and Langiden as it drains to
the South China Sea in Banauang, Santa, Ilocos Sur.
Although the province has
three access roads, the Abra-Ilocos Sur Highway, the Abra-Ilocos Norte
Road, and the Abra-Kalinga Road, only the first is well-paved while the
others are narrow gravel and dirt roads passing through zig-zag and
rugged terrains. |