Lake Taal

Lake Taal fills a volcanic basin in southern Luzon, with the active cone of Taal rising from an island within its waters. The Pansipit River carries its waters southwest to Balayan Bay. Before the great eruption of 1754 the connection was wider and navigable; volcanic debris narrowed the outlet, raising the lake and changing its relationship with the sea. Communities on the shore had to move as ash and water transformed the landscape around them.