La Unión

"La Union," without an accented "o," refers to a province in the Philippines. For places in Latin America and Spain, see La Unión.

Province of La Union
Provincial seal of La Union
Map of the Philippines with La Union highlighted
Region	Ilocos Region (Region I)
Capital	San Fernando City
Divisions
- Independent cities	0
- Component cities	1
- Municipalities	19
- Barangays	576
- Congressional     districts	1st and 2nd districts of La Union
Population
- Total (2007)	720,972 (34th out of 80) including independent cities: 720,972 (36th out of 80)
- Density	479.4/km² (9th out of 80) including independent cities: 479.4/km² (10th out of 80)
Area
- Total	1,504.0 km² (70th out of 80) including independent cities: 1,504.0 km² (70th out of 80)
Founded	1850
Spoken languages	Ilokano, Pangasinan
Governor	Manuel "Manoling" Ortega (NPC)

La Union is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Its capital is San Fernando City and borders Ilocos Sur to the north, Benguet to the east, and Pangasinan to the south. To the west of La Union is the South China Sea.

People and culture

Ninety-three percent of the population is Ilocano and is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. There are communities of Pangasinense in the south, Igorots in the Cordillera foothills, and Chinese in the city.

La Union is highly literate, with San Fernando City as the administrative, educational, and financial center of the region.

Economy

The economy is diversified with service, manufacturing, and agricultural industries spread throughout the province. The Port of San Fernando operates as an increasingly active shipping point, and the former American airbase Wallace Air Station, having been converted into a business and industrial area, helps to facilitate such commercial activity.

Tourism to the province is driven by airlines and passenger coach bus lines like regionally owned Farinas Transit Company and Partas.

Tourists often flock to the beaches of Bauang, or to the more secluded ones further north for snorkeling, surfing or other water sports; the more northerly beaches near San Juan specifically cater to both local surfers as well as portions of the world surfing circuit.

Geography

Political

La Union is subdivided into 19 municipalities and 1 city.

City

• San Fernando City, La Union

Municipalities

Physical

Like most of the region, the province is squeezed in by the Cordillera mountain range to the east and the South China Sea to the west. Yet, unlike other portions of Luzon and the Philippines' two other island groupings, the Visayas and Mindanao, La Union experiences a rather arid and prolonged dry season with little precipitation to be expected between the months of November and May.

History

La Unión, "The Union" or "The Unity" in Spanish, was formed in 1850 when the Spanish colonial government of Governor-General Antonio Maria Blanco merged the southern towns of Ilocos Sur province, the northern towns of Pangasinan, and the western towns of Benguet to the east.

External links

• Official Website of the Provincial Government of La Union
• History of La Union

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Coordinates: 16°30′N 120°25′E / 16.5°N 120.417°E / 16.5; 120.417