Butuan, chartered city, southern Philippines, capital of Agusan del Norte Province, near the mouth of the Agusan River, on the northern coast of Mindanao. The city is a trade center for the Agusan river valley, where lumber, gold, abaca, and copra are produced. Butuan is reputed to be the site at which the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan proclaimed Spanish sovereignty over the Philippine Archipelago in 1521. Population (1999 estimate) 247,074.
