Bataan in the context of "Zambales Mountains"

Manila Bay (Filipino: Look ng Maynila; Spanish: Bahía de Manila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and its neighboring countries, becoming the gateway for socio-economic development even prior to Spanish occupation. With an area of 1,994 km (769.9 sq mi), and a coastline of 190 km (118.1 mi), Manila Bay is situated in the western part of Luzon and is bounded by Cavite and Metro Manila on the east, Bulacan and Pampanga on the north, and Bataan on the west and northwest. Manila Bay drains approximately 17,000 km (6,563.7 sq mi) of watershed area, with the Pampanga River contributing about 49% of the freshwater influx. With an average depth of 17 m (55.8 ft), it is estimated to have a total volume of 28.9×10^ m (1,020×10^ cu ft). Entrance to the bay is 19 km (11.8 mi) wide and expands to a width of 48 km (29.8 mi). However, the width of the bay varies from 22 km (13.7 mi) at its mouth and expanding to 60 km (37.3 mi) at its widest point.

The islands of Corregidor and Caballo divide the entrance into two channels, about 2 mi (3.2 km) towards the North and 6.5 mi (10.5 km) wide on the South side. Mariveles, in the province of Bataan, is an anchorage just inside the northern entrance and Sangley Point is the former location of Cavite Naval Base. On either side of the bay are volcanic peaks topped with tropical foliage: 40 km to the north is the Bataan Peninsula and to the south is the province of Cavite.

The Philippines campaign, also known as the Battle of the Philippines (Filipino: Labanan sa Pilipinas) or the Fall of the Philippines, was the invasion of the Philippines by the Empire of Japan during the Pacific Theater of World War II. The operation to capture the islands, which was defended by the U.S. and Philippine Armies, was intended to prevent interference with Japan's expansion in Southeast Asia.

On 8 December 1941, several hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese planes began bombing U.S. forces in the Philippines, including aircraft at Clark Field near the capital of Manila on the island of Luzon. Japanese landings on northern Luzon began two days later, and were followed on 22 December by major landings at Lingayen Gulf and Lamon Bay by the Japanese Fourteenth Army under Masaharu Homma. The defense of the Philippines was led by Douglas MacArthur, who ordered his soldiers to evacuate Manila to the Bataan Peninsula ahead of the Japanese advance. Japanese troops captured Manila by 7 January 1942, and after their failure to penetrate the Bataan defensive perimeter in early February, began a 40-day siege, enabled by a naval blockade of the islands. The U.S. and Philippine troops on Bataan eventually surrendered on 9 April and were then subjected to the Bataan Death March, which was marked by Japanese atrocities and mistreatment.

Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales (Sambal: Probinsya nin Zambales; Ilocano: Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: Luyag na Zambales; Kapampangan: Lalawigan ning Zambales; Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Iba, which is located in the middle of the province. Olongapo is the largest city of the province wherein it is geographically located but politically independent.

Zambales borders Pangasinan to the north and northeast, Tarlac to the east, Pampanga to the southeast, Bataan to the south and the South China Sea to the west. With a total land area of 3,830.83 square kilometres (1,479.09 sq mi) (including the independent city of Olongapo), Zambales is the second largest among the seven provinces of Central Luzon after Nueva Ecija. The province is noted for its mangoes, which are abundant from January to April.

Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (Kapampangan: Lalawigan ning Pampanga; Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Pampanga), is a province in Central Luzon, Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, Manila Bay to the south, Bataan to the southwest, and Zambales to the west. Its capital is San Fernando, the regional center of Central Luzon. Angeles City is the largest city in Pampanga but is administratively independent. It has been self-governing since receiving its charter in 1964.

The name La Pampanga was given by the Spaniards, who found natives living along the banks (pampáng) of the Pampanga River. It was created in 1571 as the first Spanish province on Luzon (the province of Cebu in the Visayas is older, founded in 1565). The town of Villa de Bacolor briefly served as the Spanish colonial capital when Great Britain occupied Manila during the Seven Years' War. On the eve of the Philippine Revolution in 1896, Pampanga was one of eight provinces placed under martial law for rebelling against the Spanish Empire. It is represented on the Flag of the Philippines by one of the eight rays of the sun.

The Tagalog people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Philippines, particularly the Metro Manila and Calabarzon regions and Marinduque province of southern Luzon, and comprise the majority in the provinces of Bulacan, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, and Zambales in Central Luzon and the island of Mindoro.

Kapampangan, Capampáñgan, or Pampangan, is an Austronesian language, and one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. It is the primary and predominant language of the entire province of Pampanga and southern Tarlac, on the southern part of Luzon's central plains geographic region, where the Kapampangan ethnic group resides. Kapampangan is also spoken in northeastern Bataan, as well as in the provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Zambales that border Pampanga. It is further spoken as a second language by a few Aeta groups in the southern part of Central Luzon. The language is known honorifically as Amánung Sísuan ('breastfed, or nurtured, language').

Kapampangan is assigned the ISO 639-2 three-letter code pam, but not an ISO 639-1 two-letter code.

Mariveles, officially the Municipality of Mariveles (Tagalog: Bayan ng Mariveles), is a municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 156,200 people, making it the most populous in the province.