Loreto, Agusan del Sur

, officially the , (; ),  is a   in the province of , . According to the , it has a population of  people.

History
It was in the year 1600 (please check this date, Fr. Urios came to Agusan in 1880's) when the Spaniards first came to the upper reaches of Agusan and discover the Manobos. In convincing the Manobos to organized themselves and lived in a settlement/community, the settlement was given the name of "Loreto" in remembrance of Fr. Urios town in Spain on March 30, 1965.

Rain of fish
On a rainy morning in 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
Loreto is located at .

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the  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.

Barangays
Loreto is politically subdivided into 23 barangays.

Demographics

In the , Loreto had a population of . The population density was .

References

Category:Municipalities of Agusan del Sur