Bicol Region in the context of "Camarines Norte"

Catanduanes (/ˌkɑːtɑːndʊˈɑːnɛs/; Tagalog pronunciation: [kɐtɐndʊˈɐnes]), officially the Province of Catanduanes (Filipino: Lalawigan ng Catanduanes), is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across the Maqueda Channel. Its capital, and most populated town is Virac. Catanduanes had a population of 271,879 people as of the 2020 census.

The province comprises Catanduanes (mainland or main island), as well as the outer islands of Panay, Leyte, the Palumbanes group of islands (Porongpong, Tignob, and Calabagio), and several small islets and rocks. The province is also home to various mollusc fossil sites, notably the second-oldest ammonite site in the Philippines. These sites contain certain species of ammonites that are found nowhere else in Southeast Asia. Because of the province's importance and rich geologic history, scholars have suggested that it could be named a UNESCO Geopark Reserve.

The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Most Bisayan languages are spoken in the whole Visayas section of the country, but they are also spoken in the southern part of the Bicol Region (particularly in Masbate and Sorsogon where several dialects of Waray are spoken), islands south of Luzon, such as those that make up Romblon, most of the areas of Mindanao and the province of Sulu located southwest of Mindanao. Some residents of Metro Manila also speak one of the Bisayan languages.

Over 30 languages constitute the Bisayan language family. The Bisayan language with the most speakers is Cebuano, spoken by 20 million people as a native language in Central Visayas, parts of Eastern Visayas, and most of Mindanao. Two other well-known and widespread Bisayan languages are Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), spoken by 9 million in most of Western Visayas and Soccsksargen; and Waray-Waray, spoken by 6 million in Eastern Visayas region. Prior to colonization, the script and calligraphy of most of the Visayan peoples was the badlit, closely related to the Tagalog baybayin.

Central Bikol, commonly called Bikol Naga or simply Bikol, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Bicolanos, primarily in the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, Philippines. It is spoken in the northern and western part of Camarines Sur, the second congressional district of Camarines Norte, the eastern part of Albay, the northeastern part of Sorsogon, San Pascual town in Masbate, and the southwestern part of Catanduanes. Central Bikol speakers can be found in all provinces of Bicol, and it is a majority language in Camarines Sur. The standard sprachraum form is based on the Canaman dialect. The language has also speakers outside their native regional homeland, especially in Metro Manila, Mindoro, Palawan, and Mindanao (particularly in Mati, Davao Oriental)

Central Bikol features some vocabulary not found in other Bikol languages nor in other members of the Central Philippine language family like Tagalog and Cebuano. Examples are the words matua and bitis, which are the same as the Kapampangan words meaning 'older' and 'foot, feet', respectively. The word banggi ('night') is another example of this as it is different from the usual Bikol word gab-i but closer to the word bengi of Kapampangan. There is no formal study on the relationship of the Central Luzon languages to Central Bikol but the latter has several words that are also found in the archaic form of Tagalog spoken in the Rizal and Quezon provinces that are believed to be the home of Central Luzon languages such as Kapampangan in Pampanga and southern Tarlac, and Sambalic languages in Zambales province.

Mayon (Central Bikol: Bulkan Mayon; Tagalog: Bulkang Mayon, IPA: [mɐ'jɔn]), also known as Mount Mayon and Mayon Volcano is an active stratovolcano in the province of Albay in Bicol, Philippines. A popular tourist spot, it is renowned for its "perfect cone" because of its symmetric conical shape, and is regarded as sacred in Philippine mythology.

The volcano with its surrounding landscape was declared a national park on July 20, 1938, the first in the nation. It was reclassified as a natural park and renamed the Mayon Volcano Natural Park in 2000. It is the centerpiece of the Albay Biosphere Reserve, declared by UNESCO in 2016, and is currently being nominated as a World Heritage Site.

The Samar Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Bicol Region of Luzon and the Eastern Visayas.

It is bordered by the islands of Samar to the east, Leyte to the south, Masbate to the west, and Luzon to the north. The sea is connected to the Philippine Sea to the north via San Bernardino Strait, to Leyte Gulf to the southeast via San Juanico Strait, to the Visayan Sea to the southwest, and to the Sibuyan Sea to the northwest via Masbate Pass and Ticao Pass. It contains Biliran Island, the islands of Almagro, Maripipi, Sto. Nino, Daram, and Tagapul-an.

The Waray people (or the Waray-Waray people) are a subgroup of the larger ethnolinguistic group Bisaya people, who constitute the 4th largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines. Their primary language is the Waray language (also called Lineyte-Samarnon or Binisaya), an Austronesian language native to the islands of Samar, Leyte and Biliran, which together comprise the Eastern Visayas Region of the Philippines. Waray people inhabit most of Samar where they are called Samareños/Samarnons, the northern part of the island of Leyte where they are called Leyteños, and the island of Biliran. In Leyte island, the Waray-speaking people are separated from the Cebuano-speaking Leyteños by the island's mountain range at the middle.

In the island-province of Biliran, Waray-speaking people live in the eastern part facing Samar island, and Maripipi Island; their Waray dialect is commonly referred to as Biliranon. In Ticao island, belonging to Masbate province, Bicol Region, Waray-speaking people dwell in most of the island; who are commonly referred to as Ticaonon. Though Ticaonons identify more with the Masbateño-speaking people of Masbate, being their province-mates. The Bicolano language has more common vocabulary with the Waray language than with other Visayan languages (i.e. Cebuano or Ilonggo).

Calabarzon (officially stylized in all caps; English: /ˌkɑːləbɑːrˈzɒn/; Tagalog: [kalɐbaɾˈsɔn]), sometimes referred to as Southern Tagalog (Tagalog: Timog Katagalugan) and designated as Region IV‑A, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It is situated southeast of Metro Manila and is bordered by Manila Bay and the South China Sea to the west, Lamon Bay and the Bicol Region to the east, Tayabas Bay and the Sibuyan Sea to the south, and Central Luzon to the north. Comprising five provinces—Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon (hence the acronym)—and one highly urbanized city, Lucena, it is the most populous region in the Philippines, according to the 2020 census, with over 16.1 million inhabitants. It is also the country's second most densely populated region, after the National Capital Region. Calamba in Laguna serves as the regional center, while Antipolo in Rizal is the most populous city in the region.

Before its creation as a separate region, Calabarzon, along with the Mimaropa region, the province of Aurora, and parts of Metro Manila, comprised the historical region known as Southern Tagalog until they were separated in 2002 through Executive Order No. 103.

Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate (Masbateño: Probinsya san Masbate; Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate City, the most populous in the province. The province consists of three major islands: Masbate, Ticao and Burias.

Masbate is at the crossroads of two island groups: Visayas and Luzon. It is politically part of Bicol Region in the latter. However, from a bio-geographic and socio-ethno-linguistic perspective, Masbate is grouped in the former.