Zambales Province
is on the western coast of Central Luzon. It is bounded on the north by Pangasinan, on the east by Tarlac and Pampanga, on the south by Bataan and on the west by the South China Sea.

BRIEF PROFILE
Capital:	Iba
Land Area:	3,830.83 km²
Population:	534,443 Excluding Olongapo City(2010)
Cities:	Olongapo
Munacipalities:	13
Barangays:	247
Districts:	1st and 2nd districts of Zambales
Languages:	Sambal, Ilocano,Pangasinan, Tagalog, Kapampangan, English

The land_______________________________

The province has lowlands along the narrow coast where the town centers are located.

The northern part is basically swampy.

Mountain ranges, containing vast precious mineral deposits, as well as some volcanos, are found in the eastern portion. The recent eruption of Mount Pinatubo, on the the boundary between Zambales and Pampanga, has changed the landscape of the province. Certain parts are submerged under lahar and have somtimes given rise to lakes.

There are two pronounced seasons in the province: dry from November to April, and wet the rest of the year.

A Brief History___________________________

The name of the province is derived from its earliest inhabitants, the Zambals. They worship spirits called "anitos", thus they were reffered to as "Sambali" from the Malay word samba, meaning "to worship". The term was later Hispanicized to "Zambal".

Zambales was one of the earliest provinces created during the Spanish rule. As founded in the 16 th century. it comprised an area extending from Cape Bolinao in the north to Subic Bay in the south. Due to their inaccessibilty from the capital, seven towns in the northern portion of Zambales, from Bolinao to Infanta and including Alaminos, were later ceded to Pangasinan, forming its western part.

Zambales is the home province of the seventh president of the Republic, Ramon Magsaysay, who hailed form Castillejos.

The People______________________________

The inhabitants are composed of three principal ethnic groups: the Ilocanos, Tagalogs and Zambals.

The forebearers of the Zamabals where the Malay migrants from Celebes who settled in the north.

The Tagalogs came from the east and settled at the southern end, while the Ilocanos occupied the areas between. These newcomers drove the aborigines to the hinterlands.

Tagalog is the predominant dialect, followed by Ilocano and Zambal.

Commerce and Industry_____________________

Zambales is basically an agriculture province. The chief products are rice, corn, vegetables and rootcrops. Major industries include farming, fishing and mining.

The province's mineral resources include gold, copper and chromite.

Olongapo, once the site of the biggest US naval base in Asia, is fast developing into an industrial and tourism zone under the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Getting There and Away_____________________

Buses are availble from Manila daily.