LEYTE, PHILIPPINES

Leyte

 (also Northern Leyte; Filipino: Hilagang Leyte)

 is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayasregion.

 Its capital is Tacloban City

 and occupies the northern three-quarters

 of the Leyte Island.

 Leyte is located west of Samar Island,

 north of Southern Leyte

and south of Biliran.

 To the west of Leyte across the

Camotes Sea is Cebu Province.

Politically, the island is divided into two provinces:

 (Northern) Leyte and Southern Leyte.

 Territorially, Southern Leyte Province includes

 the island of Panaon to its south

. Biliran Island, to the north of Leyte Island,

 was formerly a sub-province of Leyte,

and is now a separate province, Biliran Province.

The island measures about

180 kilometres (110 mi) north-south and about

 65 kilometres (40 mi) at its widest point.

 In the north it nearly joins Samar Island,

 separated by the San Juanico Strait,

 which becomes as narrow as

 2 km (1.2 mi) in some places.

 The island province of Biliran

is also to the north of Leyte and is joined to Leyte island by

 a bridge across the narrow Biliran Strait.

 To the south Leyte is separated from Mindanao

 by the Surigao Strait.

 To the east,

Leyte is somewhat "set back" from the

 Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean,

 Samar to the northeast and Dinagat Islands

 to the southeast forming the Leyte Gulf.

 To the west is the Camotes Sea.

Leyte is mostly heavily forested

and mountainous, but the Leyte Valley

 in the northeast has much agriculture.