Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is the body of water immediately east of the
island of
Leyte in the
Philippines, adjoining the
Philippine Sea of the
Pacific Ocean, at .
The gulf is bounded on the north by the island of
Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow
San Juanico Strait, and on the south by
Mindanao, separated from Leyte by the
Surigao Strait.
Dinagat Island partly encloses the gulf to the southeast, and the small
Homonhon Island (notable as the first landfall of
Ferdinand Magellan after completely crossing the Pacific. He had previously discovered
Guam and resupplied there. That was his only landfall on the trans-Pacific voyage), sits astride the eastern entrance to the gulf. It is approximately 130 km (80 mi) north-south, and 60 km (40 mi) east-west.
The
Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought in and around the gulf at the end of October
1944.