Surigao del Sur is situated at the eastern coast of Mindanao and faces the Philippine Sea to the east.

[7] In precolonial times, the region of Surigao was inhabited by the Visayan Surigaonon people in the coastal areas, as well as Lumad groups in the interiors like the Mandaya, Mansaka, Mamanwa and Manobo.

Surigao del Sur is located along the northeastern coast of Mindanao facing the Philippine Sea between 125°40' to 126°20' east longitudes and 7°55' and 9°20' north latitudes.

The province is elongated in shape, extending from the northeastern portion at Carrascal to the southernmost municipality of Lingig.

[citation needed] The province falls under Type II climate of the Philippines, characterized by rainfall distributed throughout the year, although there is a distinct rainy season which begins from the month of November and ends in March.

However, the climatic behavior of the province for the past few years has shown variations wherein the onset of the rainy seasons no longer occurs on the usual time.

Surigao del Sur is one of the top 20 most vulnerable provinces to climate change in the Philippines.

The province is home to the Kamayo, Agusan, and the eponymous Surigaonon peoples, with the latter ethnolingustically related to the Visayan ethnic groups (though geographically native in Mindanao).

Other residents in the province include the migrants (and their native-born descendants) from Ilocandia, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mindoro, Marinduque and Bicolandia in Luzon and Panay, Negros, Central and Western Visayas, as well as Chinese and white Europeans (eg.

The indigenous people of the province were largely Christianized during the early times of the Spanish conquest.

The Surigaonon and Tandaganon languages are spoken in most parts of Surigao del Sur (except in Bislig and the towns of Barobo, Hinatuan, Lingig and Tagbina, where most of the inhabitants speak Cebuano and their native Kamayo, a different language but one distantly related to Surigaonon, is spoken by the rest of the population), with the Cantilangnon dialect, a northern variety of Surigaonon that is very much similar to the dialect of Surigaonon as spoken in Surigao del Norte, being spoken mostly in the five northern municipalities of the province, namely Carrascal, Cantilan, Madrid, Carmen and Lanuza (or the municipal cluster called Carcanmadcarlan); these municipalities were once under a single Municipality of Cantilan before December 10, 1918.

Tagalog and English are also widely spoken throughout the province and used as the primary languages of education, business, and administration.

Surigao del Sur is endowed with metallic minerals such as copper, gold, chromite, cobalt, nickel and lead zinc, as well as non-metallic (limestone, coal and feldspar, clay diatomite/bentomite and coarse/fine aggregates).

Small scale mining activities are found in the municipalities of Barobo, Carmen and San Miguel.

[citation needed] Surfing in Surigao del Sur is widely known and has been one of the local tourist attractions.