CAGAYAN RIVER

also called Ro Grande De Cagayan, longest stream in Luzon, Philippines. It begins its 220-mile (350-kilometre) course in a twisting pattern in the Sierra Madre in northeastern Luzon. It then flows north into a 50-mile- (80-kilometre-) wide fertile valley that is important for the cultivation of rice and tobacco. Ilagan, Isabela, Tuguegarao, and Cagayan are major riverine towns. At Aparri, the Cagayan enters the ocean at Babuyan Channel of the Luzon Strait. The Chico, Magat, and Ilagan rivers are its main tributaries.