Historic Butuan

The City of Butuan is the regional center of Caraga Region, Philippines.it is located in the northern part of Mindanao sprawling across the Agusan River. It is bounded to the north, west and south by Agusan del Norte, to the east by Agusan del Sur.

The name “Butuan” is believed to have originated from the sour fruit “Batuan”. Other etymology sources say that it comes from a certain “Datu Buntuan”, a chieftain who once ruled over Butuan.
It is said that before there was Philippines, there was already Butuan. The evidence to prove this fact is the discovery of 9 balangays (the Butuan Boat) and other archeological remains found in the vicinities of Butuan City, particularly in Ambangan, Libertad near the old El Rio de Butuan and Masao River which reveal much about Butuan’s history.

By 11th century, Butuan was the center of trade and commerce in the Philippines. Butuan was already in contact with China. The Chinese Song Shih (Song History) has recorded the first appearance of the Butuan Tributary mission at Chinese Imperial Court on 17 March 1001 AD and described Butuan (P’u-tuan) as a small country in the sea that had a regular connection with Champa ( a kingdom in Central Vietnam) and intermittent contact with China. The numerous jars/artifacts [Chinese (tenth to fifteenth centuries AD), Khmer/Cambodian (ninth to tenth centuries AD), Thai (fourteenth to fifteenth centuries AD) Pre-Thai Satingpra (900-1100 AD) and Haripunjaya (800-900 AD), pre-trade Vietnamese (eleventh to thirteenth centuries AD) and Persian (ninth to tenth centuries AD)] dug within the vicinities of Ambangan, Archeological Site, in Libertad well attest to the historical account that Butuan traded with the Chinese and Southeast Asia countries in the past.

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Geomorphic History of The Balanghai Site

Approximately 2 million years ago, the area of preset-day Butuan City was entirely covered by sea. The Agusan River that flowed from the Diwata mountain range empted directly to Butuan Bay and had carried with the sand, silt and clay. These formed a delta which expanded and transform in the area from a marine environment to a coastal plain. Swamps, marshes, streams and estuary were formed.

The growth of the delta divide the direction of the flow of Agusan River and created a new river in the western part of Butuan City. This is the Masao River that serves as the direct source of freshwater for the estuary.

During the 9^th and 10^th century A.D. the estuary became an ideal and important sanctuary for seafarers. Settlements existed along the estuary shorelines. However this estuary slowly changed into a swampy and marshy environment. Sand, silt and clay blanked the estuary with the floodwaters of the Masao River.

Time and floods created a widespread blanket of sand, silt and clay forming a wide coastal plain in the entire Butuan City area. The present flood behavior of Agusan and Masao Rivers indicate that they still reach the height sufficient enough to flood Butuan City.

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