Lake Lanao

Lake Lanao (' or Ranaw';), is a large ancient lake in the province of Lanao del Sur, Philippines. With a surface area of , which was later repealed by Republic Act No. 6434 in 1972.

The lake has great hydroelectric potential due to its 700 meter elevation, and as such, in 1950, the Philippines National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) began the construction of a series of hydroelectric plants titled Agus I – Agus VII along the Agus River system, which generates 70% of the electricity used by the people of Mindanao. and established the Lake Lanao Watershed Protection and Development Council (LLWPDC), a policy group with both SALAM and NAPOCOR representatives.

In October 2006, a study from the Mindanao State University discovered massive algae contamination in Lake Lanao. Initially, poor sewage and agricultural waste management were seen as the culprits of the contamination. However, the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources stated that soil erosion from indiscriminate logging and extensive land use and farming are the problems that caused the algae contamination. These fish are suggested to be a species complex descending from the widespread common barb, B. binotatus. This would represent an explosive evolution rate of the fish, presumably migrating in from the Sundaland and speciating throughout 10,000 to 20,000 years as the Philippines became isolated.

However, an investigation in 1992 only managed to locate three of the endemic/near-endemic fish species, and only two (the endemic B. lindog and the near-endemic B. tumba) were located in 2008. It is believed that overfishing, pollution, and competition from introduced species caused the extinctions. The lake also supports a large waterfowl population,

The 18 endemic/near-endemic cyprinid species of Lake Lanao (B. binotatus also occurs, but it is a widespread species):

Barbodes amarus Herre (pait; dipura)
Barbodes baoulan Herre ** (baolan)
Barbodes clemensi Herre (bagangan)
Barbodes disa Herre ** (Diza)
Barbodes flavifuscus Herre (tumba)
Barbodes herrei (Fowler, 1934)
Barbodes katolo Herre (katolo)
Barbodes lanaoensis Herre (kundur)
Barbodes lindog Herre ** (lindog)
Barbodes manalak Herre ** (manalak)
Barbodes pachycheilus Herre (Bongkaong)
Barbodes palaemophagus Herre (bitungu)
Barbodes palata Herre ** (palata)
Barbodes resimus Herre * (bagangan sa erungan)
Barbodes sirang Herre sirang; (Tumaginting)
Barbodes tras Herre (tras)
Barbodes truncatulus Herre (bitungu)
Barbodes tumba Regan (tumba)

Notes:

<nowiki>*</nowiki> — Biggest native species in Lake Lanao

<nowiki>**</nowiki> — Species of high commercial value

Other native species: Long ago, in what is now the lake was the prosperous sultanate of Mantapoli. The people of the polity increased in population due to advancements in many fields. Because of the sudden growth in population and power, the equilibrium between sebangan (east) and sedpan (west) was broken. This problem soon came to the attention of archangel Diabarail. Afterward, Diabarail went to heaven and told Allah the news. Sohora, the voice of Allah, advised Diabarail to go to seven regions beneath the earth and seven regions in the sky to summon the angels. Sohora also said that when Allah fully establishes the barahana (solar eclipse), they will remove Mantapoli from its location and transfer it into the center of the world. When the angels were summoned and the barahana made, Mantapoli was soon teleported into the Earth's center, leaving a vast hole in its former location. The hole eventually filled with water and turned into a deep, blue-colored lake. When Diabarail saw the tides of water, he immediately went to heaven to report to Allah. He told Allah that the waters may drown the people. Hearing this, Allah commanded Diabarail to summon the four winds (Angin Taupan, Angin Besar, Angin Darat, and Angin Sarsar) to blow the excess waters and establish outlets where these waters will flow. After three trails, the winds succeeded and the Agus River was formed.

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