14/03/2025
Touchdown!!!
📍 Sta Cruz Zambales
Zambales as the second largest province in Central Luzon, which covers an area of 361, 103 hectares, shares common boundaries with Pangasinan on the North, Tarlac and Pampanga on the East and Bataan on the South. The entire stretch of the Province on the west is rimmed by the crystal clear water of vast China Sea.
The topography of the province is generally irregular, with the coastal plains and valleys stretching from Lingayen Gulf down south towards Subic Bay along the western coast and further towards a 175 kms. stretch of shoreline.
Brief History
The province of Zambales was formally organized in 1572 after its exploration by Don Juan de Salcedo, and originally included the towns of Alaminos, Bolinao, San Isidro, Infanta, Anda, Bani, and Agno, which now belong to Pangasinan. Masinloc, one of its earliest municipalities organized in 1607, was its former capital. Its earliest inhabitants are the Malays from the Celebes Sea and the kinky haired Negritos and Aetas, which are up to now present in the province, and were then referred to as “Sambali” or “Zambals.” The name of the province was derived from the Malay word “Samba” meaning to worship as the Spaniards found the its inhabitants worshipping their “Anitos.”
