Surigao City

Surigao City, officially the City of Surigao (Surigaonon: Siyudad nan Surigao; Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Surigao; Filipino: Lungsod ng Surigao), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Surigao del Norte, Caraga Region (Administrative Region XIII), on the north-eastern island of Mindanao, Philippines. The city is located at the north-easternmost tip of Mindanao with a total land area of 245.34 km2 which is roughly 1.4% of Caraga region. The absence of a fort in Surigao belies its significance and sphere of influence during the Spanish period. It was the capital of the expansive province of the same name from 1750 until its dissolution in 1911, covering a third of Mindanao Island's total land area. It is one of the oldest port towns in Mindanao, founded by Spanish colonizers in 1655. It has abundant mineral reserves including gold, iron, manganese, silica, cobalt, copper, chromite and among the world's largest nickel deposits in Nonoc Island. The city has been dubbed the mining capital since 1969 of the then Northern Mindanao region and still today as an economic driver of Caraga region.