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La Union, "The Union" or "The United" in Spanish, was formed in 1850 when the Spanish colonial government merged the southern towns of Ilocos Sur province, the northern towns of Pangasinan, and the western towns of Benguet to the east.
Like most of the region, the province is squeezed in by the Cordillera mountain range to the east and the South China Sea to the west. Yet, unlike other portions of Luzon and the Philippines' two other island groupings, the Visayas and Mindanao, La Union experiences a rather arid and prolonged dry season with little precipitation to be expected between the months of November and May.