Manila is found on the eastern shores of Manila bay, which rests on the western shores of Luzon. The town lies eight hundred miles ( 1,300 km ) from mainland Asia. The Pasig Stream dissects the town in the middle. Virtually all the town sits on top of centuries of prehistoric alluvial deposits built by the waters of the Pasig and on some land reclaimed from Manila Bay. The city’s land has been changed significantly by human intervention, with substantial land reclamation along the waterfronts since the North American colonial times.
Some of the natural adaptations in topography have been evened out thanks to the urbanization of the town.
The town occupies an area of 38.55 square kilometers and was split into 897 barangays, the littlest unit of local government in the Philippines. Each barangay has its own CEO and councilors. For administrative convenience, all of the barangays in Manila are grouped into one hundred sectors and which are further grouped into sixteen geographical districts. These sectors and districts have no type of local govt. These sixteen geographical districts are further grouped into the 6 lawmaking districts of Manila.