Samar

Samar (sä`mär), island (1990 pop. 1,246,722), 5,050 sq mi (13,079 sq km), 3d largest of the Philippines, one of the Visayan Islands, NE of Leyte (from which it is separated by the narrow San Juanico Strait). It has commercial coconut and abaca plantations. There are important lumbering, fishing, and mining industries; iron ore is extracted.

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Samar

Island (pop., 2000: 1,517,585), east-central Philippines. The third largest Philippine island after Luzon and Mindanao, it has an area of 5,050 sq mi (13,080 sq km) and is one of the Visayan group. In World War II it was occupied by the Japanese in 1942 and was retaken by the U.S. in 1944. The rugged interior is sparsely settled; permanent settlements are generally coastal. Coconuts and abaca are the main cash crops. The island is well forested, and there are logging and sawmill operations on the eastern coast.

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Samar

an island in the E central Philippines, separated from S Luzon by the San Bernardino Strait: the third largest island in the republic. Capital: Catbalogan. Pop.: 1 140 000 (2005 est.). Area: 13 080 sq. km (5050 sq. miles)

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Samar 

an island in the central Philippines. Area, 13,400 sq km (with adjacent small islands); population, 1 million (1970), mostly Bisayan.

The mountains on Samar, which have elevations of up to 896 m, are composed mainly of crystalline rocks, schists, and limestones. Along the shores are alluvial lowlands, and in the coastal zone, mainly the north, east, and south, are coral reefs. The climate is tropical monsoonal; annual precipitation is 2,500–3,500 mm. Typhoons are frequent from October to December. Ore deposits include iron at Hernani and copper at Ba-gacay. On the mountain slopes are humid evergreen tropical forests. There are coconut, abaca, and pineapple plantations and rice and corn fields. The Trans-Philippine Highway runs across Samar.