The Zambales Mountains is a mountain range

Mountain range

A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...

 located on western Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

 island in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. The mountains separate Luzon's central plain

Plain

In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...

 from the South China Sea

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...

. Its most prominent section is known as the Tri-Cabusilan Mountain Range composed of Mt. Pinatubo, Mount Negron and Mount Cuadrado which are believed to be remnants of the ancestral Pinatubo peak. The highest elevation in the mountain range is Mount Tapulao, also known as High Peak, in Zambales

Zambales

Zambales is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Iba. Zambales borders Pangasinan to the north, Tarlac and Pampanga to the east, and Bataan to the south. The province lies between the South China Sea and the Zambales Mountains. With a land area of...

 province

Provinces of the Philippines

The Provinces of the Philippines are the primary political and administrative divisions of the Philippines. There are 80 provinces at present, further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are autonomous from any provincial...

 which rises to 2037 metres (6,683.1 ft).

Extent

The Zambales Mountains extend North to South from the mountains of western Pangasinan

Pangasinan

Pangasinan is a province of the Republic of the Philippines. The provincial capital is Lingayen. Pangasinan is located on the west central and peripheral area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf, with the total land area being 5,368.82 square kilometers . According to the latest census,...

 province, the whole length of Zambales, to tip of the Bataan Peninsula

Bataan Peninsula

The Bataan Peninsula is a rocky extension of the Zambales Mountains, on Luzon in the Philippines. It separates the Manila Bay from the South China Sea...

 in the south enclosing Manila Bay

Manila Bay

Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...

. The mountain range also encompasses the mountains in the municipalities of Bamban

Bamban, Tarlac

Bamban is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 61,644 people in 9,113 households....

, Capas

Capas, Tarlac

Capas is a first class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 122,084 people in 18,333 households. It is a part of the Third Municipal district of Tarlac with Mayor Antonio "TJ" Capitulo Rodriguez, Jr. as its incumbent Mayor and...

, San Jose

San Jose, Tarlac

San Jose is a 4th class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 32,728 people in 5,860 households. It was created into a municipality pursuant to RA 6842; ratified on April 21, 1990; taken from the municipality of Tarlac.The...

, San Clemente

San Clemente, Tarlac

San Clemente is a 5th class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 12,458 people in 2,462 households.-Barangays:San Clemente is politically subdivided into 12 barangays.* Balloc...

, Mayantoc

Mayantoc, Tarlac

Mayantoc is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 27,274 people in 6,062 households...

, Santa Ignacia

Santa Ignacia, Tarlac

Santa Ignacia is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 43,560 people in 8,145 households.-Barangays:Santa Ignacia is politically subdivided into 24 barangays.* Baldios...

 and some hills in Camiling

Camiling, Tarlac

----Camiling is a 1st class urban municipality of the province of Tarlac in the Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 79,941 people in 15,324 households. The density is 1035.75 people per km2.Camiling is an urban municipality and one of the fastest-growing towns of...

 in the province of Tarlac

Tarlac

Tarlac is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Luzon Island. Its capital is Tarlac City. Tarlac borders Pampanga to the south, Nueva Ecija to the east, Pangasinan to the north, and Zambales to the west...

. In Pampanga

Pampanga

Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...

, it includes the mountains in Floridablanca

Floridablanca, Pampanga

Floridablanca is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, Floridablanca has a population of 103,388, with an area of 17,548 hectares or 175.48 square kilometers....

, Porac

Porac, Pampanga

Porac is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 102,962 people in 15,686 households.Porac is the largest town in Pampanga...

, Angeles City and Mabalacat

Mabalacat, Pampanga

Mabalacat is a 1st class municipality in the northern part of the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 203,307 people in 35,134 households....

.

Volcanoes

Although the mountains are volcanic in origin, Mount Pinatubo

Mount Pinatubo

Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano located on the island of Luzon, near the tripoint of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga. It is located in the Tri-Cabusilan Mountain range separating the west coast of Luzon from the central plains, and is west of the dormant and...

 is the only active volcano in the mountain range. Its eruption on June 15, 1991 was the second most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta

Novarupta

Novarupta, meaning "new eruption", is a volcano located on the Alaska Peninsula in Katmai National Park and Preserve, about southwest of Anchorage. Formed in 1912 during the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, Novarupta released 30 times the volume of magma as the 1980 eruption of...

 in Alaska. The volcanic eruption, which was complicated by the arrival of typhoon Yunya

1991 Pacific typhoon season

Tropical Storm Enrique formed in the eastern Pacific basin, where it reached it's peak intensity as a category 1 Hurricane, becoming Hurricane Enrique. Enrique lasted for 6 days before becoming a remnant low, shortly after entering in the central Pacific....

, covered the region with thick volcanic ash

Volcanic ash

Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...

 and lahar

Lahar

A lahar is a type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris, and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. The term is a shortened version of "berlahar" which originated in the Javanese language of...

 including the U.S. military base at Clark Field near Angeles City

Angeles City

The City of Angeles , located within the province of Pampanga in the Philippines, is locally classified as a first-class, highly-urbanized city. Its name is derived from El Pueblo de los Ángeles in honor of its patron saints, Los Santos Ángeles de los Custodios , and the name of its founder, Don...

, Pampanga

Pampanga

Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...

.