PROVINCE OF NUEVA VIZCAYA

Nueva Vizcaya is the southern gateway to the Cagayan Valley, Philippines. It is located in the north central part of Luzon, bounded in the north and notheast by the provinces of Ifugao and Isabela, on the east and southeast by Quirino and Aurora provinces, respectively, on the south by Nueva Ecija, and on the west by Benguet and Pangasinan.

The province is bounded to the north by Ifugao, to the northeast by Isabela, to the east by Quirino, to the southeast by Aurora, to the south by Nueva Ecija; to the southwest by Pangasinan, and to the west by Benguet.

The province has a total land area of 437,880 hectares which account for 16.30 percent of the total land area of Region II. It is composed of 15 municipalities, with Bayombong as the provincial capital, Bambang and Solano as the commercial centers, while Kayapa as the summer capital and vegetable bowl. The province's terrain is characterized by numerous mountains, forests and rolling hills, plains, and valleys. Nueva Vizcaya is sorrounded with mountain ranges: the Sierra Madre on the east, Caraballo on the south, and the Cordillera on the west. It has several principal rivers: Magat, Matuno, Marang, Sta. fe, and Sta. Cruz rivers, all of which are tributaries of the Magat River which flows into the mighty Cagayan River.

About 268 kilometers north of Manila, Bayombong, where the seat of government is located, can be reached by land through the Cagayan Valley Road (Maharlika Highway).

With forest land, agricultural areas and grasslands occupying a wide swath of the province, it does not come as a surprise that Nueva Vizcaya is an ideal site for extensive agricultural activity. In agriculture, its main crops are rice, corn vegetables, pineapple, banana, coffee, coconut, oranges and other fruit trees.

In mining, the province faces bright prospects. According to the Bureau of Mines and Geo-Sciences, deposits of metallic minerals which can be exploited are copper, gold, molydenum and pyrite. Non-metallic deposits include red clay, white clay and limestone. sand and gravel are the most abundant deposits in the province.

Since its birth as a province, traces of its history could still be reflected from the culture and customs of the early settlers which included the Ilongots (Bugkalots), Igorots, Ifugaos, Isinais, and the Gaddangs. The influx of civilization and the infusion of modern technology to the life stream of the province induced many immigrants from adjacent provinces to migrate to this province. The conglomeration of many people from varied origins in the province is a recognition of the province's vast and unexplored potentials.