Sultan Kudarat is situated in the southwestern section of central
Mindanao. It is bounded on the north by the provinces of
Maguindanao del Norte,
Maguindanao del Sur and
Cotabato; on the south by
South Cotabato and
Sarangani; on the east by
Davao del Sur; and on the west by the
Moro Gulf and the
Celebes Sea. The province's total land area is . seen from
Lebak Two major mountain ranges encompass the province; the
Alip Mountain Range in Columbio and the
Daguma Mountain Range within the towns of Bagumbayan, Isulan, and Esperanza. The three coastal towns on the province's western side (Lebak, Kalamansig, and Palimbang) are lined with mountain ranges that separate the central part of the province from the sea. There are also mountains on the eastern side, leaving flat land in between. The province has an irregular coastline of in its three coastal towns, which face the Celebes Sea. These coastal areas are prone to
tsunamis coming from the Celebes Sea. Approximately 2/3 of
Lake Buluan's area is covered by the province in the towns of Lutayan and President Quirino. There are 7 major rivers within the province:
Alip,
Allah,
Kapingkong,
Tran,
Salaman,
Palimbang and
Kabulnan. Additionally, there are 23 large creeks and 11 major springs within the province.
Land use and soil types Forestland constitutes the majority of the province's land use (50.32% ), followed by agricultural land (44.77%), fishing grounds (2.42%), non-agricultural land (1.16%), "other bodies of water" (1.02%), and fishponds (0.31%). Five major soil types are found within the province, the majority of which is classified as
Mountain Soil (71%), followed by
Sandy Loam (12.036%),
Silty Clay Loam (4.880%),
Clay Loam (4.612%) and
Loamy Sand (0.185).
Climate The climate of Sultan Kudarat falls under Type IV of Climate (characterized by rain showers or evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year). Heavy rainfall occurs from April to November. Unlike most other provinces in the country, Sultan Kudarat is generally free from
typhoons as it is situated outside the "typhoon belt". The average temperature is , with as the average maximum normally occurring in March. The lowest recorded was in the Kulaman area from December to early January.
Administrative divisions Sultan Kudarat comprises 11
municipalities and 1
city. Three of the municipalities (
Kalamansig,
Lebak, and
Palimbang) are coastal towns, while the rest of the province is located inland. The 11 municipalities and Tacurong City are further subdivided into 249
barangays.
Tacurong is the smallest unit in the province by land area, but is the most urbanized and is considered the province's commercial center. Other growth centers are
Lebak and
Isulan, the latter being the provincial capital. ==Demographics==