Dalton Pass
Dalton Pass, also called Balete Pass, is a zigzag road and mountain pass that joins the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya, in central Luzon island of the Philippines. It is part of Cagayan Valley Road segment of Pan-Philippine Highway (Maharlika Highway).
Geography
The summit of the mountain pass is at around 3,000 feet (910 m) in elevation,[1]: 517 located where the Caraballo Sur (mountain range) and the Sierra Madre (mountain range) meet. The headwaters of the Digdig River originate just south of the pass.[1]: 517 Balete Ridge starts two miles to the west-northwest of the pass, with a high point at Mt. Imugan (5,580 feet), and extends nine miles to the east-southeast, where it ends at Mt. Kabuto (4,600 feet ).[1]: 517–518
Dalton Pass is a gateway to the Cagayan Valley, and the Ifugao Rice Terraces.
Dalton Pass, then named Balete Pass, was a sight of fierce fighting between the Allied forces and Japanese forces and is named for General James Dalton II, who was killed by a sniper during the battle.
Balete Pass Tourism Complex
The Balete Pass Tourism Complex is in the summit area of the pass. The "National Shrine of the Battle of Balete" and other monuments and memorials honor the war losses. The shrine is at the highest point at the "Dalton Pass Viewpoint with Shed" provincial project, which offers long vistas of the mountains and forests.
Flora
The Dalton Pass area is home to the only critically endangered orchid of Nueva Ecija, Ceratocentron fesselii, which is endemic to the province. It has orange flowers with purple lips and that glows lightly at dark. It is threatened by illegal logging, and illegal collecting for the orchid trade in the international black market.
The national government has yet to dedicate the natural Dalton Pass habitat as a nature reserve to protect the endemic orchid, leaving extinction of the orchid in the wild a threat.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Smith, R.R., 2005, Triumph in the Philippines, Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific, ISBN 1410224953
External links
Media related to Balete Pass Tourism Complex at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to Dalton Pass Viewpoint with Shed at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to Monuments and memorials of Dalton Pass at Wikimedia Commons
16°07′59″N 120°55′55″E / 16.1331362°N 120.9319578°E
.jpg)