Lake Lanao

Lake Lanao fills a high basin in northwestern Mindanao, draining northward through the Agus River toward Iligan Bay. The Maranao, whose name means people of the lake, established communities around its shores. Their political life was organized in the four great lake regions, or #italic pangampong#!, of Bayabao, Masiu, Unayan and Baloi, each with its own leaders and alliances. Spanish expeditions attempted to impose their authority on the lake in 1639 and 1640, but resistance from the Maranao made the inland basin difficult to hold.