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Leyte(laґte,
-ta), island (1990 pop. 1,689,756), 2,785 sq mi (7,213 sq
km), one of the Visayan Islands, the Philippines, between
Luzon and Mindanao. A fertile agricultural land, it is the
nation's leading producer of sweet potatoes and bananas
and a major producer of corn and peanuts. It has commercial
coconut plantations and extensive forest reserves; lumbering
is an important industry. In World War II, Leyte was occupied
by the Japanese in early 1942. It was the scene of the first
main American landing (Oct. 20, 1944) in the campaign to
recover the Philippines. That landing was followed by the
battle of Leyte Gulf, the greatest naval engagement of all
time, in which American naval forces destroyed the Japanese
fleet.
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