Davao City

Sister cities

• Keelung

History

The area of what is now Davao City was once a lush forest inhabited by Lumadic peoples such as the Bagobos and Matigsalugs, alongside other ethnic groups such as the Aeta, Maguindanaon and the Kagan. Davao River was then called Tagloc River by the Bagobos, Maguindanaons and Tausugs who then inhabited a settlement near the mouth of the river to the sea around what is now Bolton Riverside due immediately southwest of the city plaza. In 1543, Spanish explorers led by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos sailing around Mindanao deliberately avoided the area around Davao Gulf, then called Gulf of Tagloc, due to the danger posed by fleets of Moro warships operating in the area while surveying the southeastern coast of Mindanao for possible colonization, and as a result the Davao Gulf area remained virtually untouched by European explorers for the next three centuries. A Maguindanaon Datu under the name Datu Bago was rewarded the territory of the surroundings of Davao Gulf by the Sultan of Maguindanao Sultanate for joining the campaign against the Spanish in the late 1700s. From his ancestral home in Maguindanao, he moved to the area in 1800 and, having convinced Bagobos and other native groups in the area to his side, conquered the entire Davao Gulf area. Having consolidated his position, he founded the fortress of Pinagurasan in what is now the site of Bangkerohan Public Market in 1830 which served as his capital. From being a fortification and base of operations from which Datu Bago could gather and rally his forces, the settlement of Pinagurasan eventually grew into a small city extending from present-day Generoso Bridge in Bangkerohan to Quezon Boulevard more than a kilometer down south, Being the strongest chieftain in the region, Datu Bago imposed heavy tribute on the Mandaya…

Geography

Davao City is approximately southeast of Manila over land, and by sea. The city is located in southeastern Mindanao, on the northwestern shore of Davao Gulf, opposite Samal Island. Mount Apo and Mount Talomo can be seen from here. Davao City politically subdivided into 11 districts and 182 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios. Davao City's land, totaling about , is hilly in the west (the Marilog district) and slopes down to the southeastern shore. Mount Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines, is located at the city's southwestern tip. Mount Apo National Park (the mountain and its surrounding vicinity), was inaugurated by President Manuel L. Quezon (in Proclamation 59 of May 8, 1936) to protect the flora and fauna of the surrounding mountain range. The Davao River is the city's primary drainage channel. Draining an area of over , the river begins in the town of San Fernando, Bukidnon. The mouth of the river is located at Barangay Bucana at Talomo District. Davao has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af), with little seasonal variation in temperature. The areological mechanism of the Intertropical Convergence Zone occurs more often than that of the trade winds and because it experiences rare cyclones the climate is not purely equatorial but subequatorial. Average monthly temperatures are always above , and average monthly rainfall is above . This gives the city a tropical climate, without a true dry season; while there is significant rainfall in winter, the largest rainfall occurs during the summer months (see climate chart, below). Mount Apo is home to many bird species, 111 of which are endemic to the area. It is also home to one of the world's largest eagles, the critically endangered Philippine eagle,…

Most-observed species

• Yellow-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus goiavier (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  452
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow

  Passer montanus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  452
• Zebra Dove

  Geopelia striata (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  417
• Asian Glossy Starling

  Aplonis panayensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  410
• Collared Kingfisher

  Todiramphus chloris (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  380
• Olive-backed Sunbird

  Cinnyris jugularis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  373
• Ridgetop Swiftlet

  Collocalia isonota Oberholser, 1906 · Aves
  332
• Philippine Pied-Fantail

  Rhipidura nigritorquis Vigors, 1831 · Aves
  329

Most recent

• M 4.6 — 2026-06-01
  6 km SE of Mati, Philippines
• M 4.4 — 2026-04-18
  19 km WSW of Luzon, Philippines
• M 4.7 — 2026-04-09
  28 km SW of Surup, Philippines
• M 4.5 — 2026-04-07
  5 km SW of Pangian, Philippines
• M 4.3 — 2026-03-02
  26 km ENE of Nangan, Philippines
• M 4.3 — 2026-02-08
  11 km ENE of Talisay, Philippines