Loreto, Agusan del Sur

In 1600, the Spanish conquistadors first came to the upper reaches of Agusan. In 1879, Fr. Saturnino Urios, a Spanish Jesuit missionary from Xativa, came to what was then known as Umajam and met the Manobos. Fr. Urios convinced the Manobos to relocate into one single settlement that he named as Loreto (not from his town in Spain, as sometimes it's said). Rain of fish On a rainy morning on January 13, 2012, Loreto became nationally notable when it became the site of a rain of fish. Seventy-two small fish were recovered and placed in an aquarium. They were about long and had small spots, but the species remains unknown. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources attributes the phenomenon to a waterspout. ==Geography==

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of constituting of the total area of Agusan del Sur. Loreto is a river town situated south-west of Agusan del Sur. It is bounded on the north by La Paz, north-east by Bunawan, and southeast by Veruela. The provinces of Bukidnon and Davao del Norte bound its Western and Southern portions. Loreto is a strategically situated as a junction point to various destination within Agusan del Sur and nearby provinces. The accessibility of Loreto to Provincial Center, Patin-ay in Prosperidad has three main routes: the Loreto-Santa Josefa-Trento route of , the Loreto-La Paz Talacogon route of , and the Loreto-Bunawan route of with two hours of Pump boat cruising the Agusan River. Climate {{Weather box Barangays Loreto is politically subdivided into 17 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios. ==Demographics==

According to the 2020 census, Loreto had a population of 43,880. The population density was . == Economy ==