BICOL PENINSULA

peninsula, southeastern Luzon, Philippines. It is irregular in form, with several deep coastal bays, large subpeninsulas, and a lengthy coastline. The peninsula has an area of about 4,660 square miles (12,070 square km). It comprises the Bicol Plain, a large lowland area important in the production of rice, and volcanic highlands. A well-watered area, it is densely populated although largely rural and agricultural. The peninsula is the homeland of the Bicol, the fifth largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, whose educational and commercial centre is Naga. The peninsula has been a stronghold of Philippine communists.