Leyte Island:
A 6.7 magnitude earthquake has hit Leyte Island in the Philippines recently.
- Leyte Island is a large island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines.
- It is the eighth-largest island in the Philippines and the sixth most populated.
- It spans 7056 sq.km. with a coastline of 969 km.
- In the north it nearly joins the island of Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) in some places.
- The San Juanico Bridge (2.16 kilometers) connects the islands of Leyte and Samar.
- Most of Leyte is covered in thick forests and mountain However, the Leyte Valley in the northeast is a major farming area.
- The two biggest cities on Leyte are Tacloban, located on the eastern coast, and Ormoc, on the west coast, with the latter hosting geothermal power plants.
- The island was known to 16th-century Spanish explorers as Tandaya.
- Its population grew rapidly after 1900, especially in the Leyte and Ormoc valleys.
- In World War II, S. forces landed on Leyte (October 20, 1944), and, after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Japanese were expelled.
- Most people on Leyte are farmers, growing crops like rice, corn, coconuts, and bananas.
- Fishing is also an important activity.
- The island has some valuable minerals like manganese, and people also quarry sandstone and limestone.
