Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Romancing Philippine and Marinduque Maps

Philippine Cartography from Vibal Foundation on Vimeo.

The evolution of Philippine maps from ancient times to the present could be seen in this video that also traces the economic and political importance of the Philippines to the rest of the world.

People familiar with the exact location of Marinduque in Philippine maps would also be interested to see the evolution of the map of the island of Marinduque, and what transpired after further studies by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) was began in 1901. This involved the identification of specific points in the ellipsoid through the use of latitude and longitude, until a single datum was pinpointed – the Luzon Datum of 1911.

The origin of this datum was defined by Datum Station Balanacan, in Mogpog, Marinduque, located 13°33'41"N, 121°52'3"E. Consequently, all maps and surveys in the entire country were corrected and based on the position of this station.

The Philippines' National Mapping Resource Authority (NAMRIA) hatched in 2008 the development of the site atop Mataas na Bundok near Balanacan as a national landmark and as a site for eco-tourism development. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines has since issued a certification declaring the national significance of Datum Station Balanacan.

This makes more concrete Marinduque's tagline as the Heart of the Philippines or Center of the Philippines.