Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and Quezon to the northwest, and Albay to the south.
Within the province lies Lake Buhi, where the smallest commercially harvested fish, the sinarapan (Mistichthys luzonensis), can be found.
José María de Peñaranda, the first governor of Albay and a military engineer, was made corregidor of the province on 14 May 1834.
Its name having been derived from camaronchones or camarines, a Spanish word for kamalig referring to small nipa or bamboo-made huts by the natives.
[3] Guerrilla units were organized by Wenceslao Q. Vinzons that waged underground operations against the Japanese troops stationed in Camarines Sur.
In April 1945, Camarines Sur was finally liberated from the Japanese invaders against the combined Filipino and American troops in 1945.
[citation needed] On 6 June 1955, the provincial capital, which had previously been located in Naga, was transferred to Pili by virtue of Republic Act 1336.
[4] Camarines Sur covers a total area of 5,497.03 square kilometres (2,122 sq mi)[5] occupying the central section of the Bicol Region in Luzon.
The eastern portion of the province lies on the mountainous Caramoan Peninsula, which faces the island of Catanduanes to the east.
Other religions professed by the people include Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) the Province of Camarines Sur has 2 Ecclesiastical District of the Church 1.Iriga 2.Naga serves the increasing numbers, Baptist, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah's Witnesses, Methodists and other smaller Christian groups.
They belong to the Aeta people classification, but have distinct language and belief systems unique to their own culture and heritage.
29 of the 35 towns are agricultural and produce rice, corn, feedmeal, freshwater fish, livestock, coconut, sugar, abacá, and water-lily.
Entrepreneurs engage in trading, often branching out towards neighboring provinces in the south as local demand might be limited by the 3rd to 5th income-class municipalities.
Handicrafts are the major source of rural income, providing a fairly large share in the small-scale industries of the province.
The manufacture of abacá products such as Manila hemp, hats, bags, mats, and slippers is one of the main sources of income in the rural areas.
Calabanga has commerce from goods moving out of Naga, and is the trade center for the towns of Tinambac, Bombon, Cabusao, and Siruma and further Mercedes in Camarines Norte.
Sipocot has an agricultural base economy, with an abundant stock of native chicken (Sipocot's OTOP) and wide production of calamansi and other vegetables, while also serving as trading post for towns of Cabusao, Lupi, Del Gallego, Libmanan Ragay and Mercedes (Camarines Norte) Tagkawayan (Quezon Province) .
The towns of Nabua, Goa, Calabanga, Libmanan, Pasacao, Sipocot, Baao are also taking successful steps towards urbanization and competitiveness.
The rest of the province takes a long time to urbanize due to lack of major roads, or isolation from business centers.
In order to spur development in the province, two expressways in Camarines Sur have been proposed: Download coordinates as: