Butuan is one of two cities (along with ten (10) municipalities) that comprise the province of Agusan del Norte in the Caraga Region. The city is politically subdivided into eighty-six (86) barangays, and is a part of the 1st Congressional District of Agusan del Norte.

Butuan City is the seat of Caraga’s regional government and serves as the region’s trading center as well. The city’s strategic location makes it a natural gateway to the different prime destinations in Caraga.

Butuan is a city that has seen over ten centuries of recorded history. It was the original site of the first Easter mass on Philippine soil. It was the site of the first formal hoisting of the Philippine flag in Mindanao. And it was the home of the balanghais, pre-historic native boats of Southeast Asia, dating from around 320 to 1250 AD, nine of which have been discovered by archaeologists of the National Museum.

A description of Butuan is never complete without infusing it with the significance of the Agusan River. It is the river and its tributaries that provide the valley with rich soil from periodic floods and its serpentine routes. The rivers has provided people with easy means of transportation for trade and commerce and encouraged settlements along its banks. The Agusan River greatly helped the booming logging industry that made Butuan the “Timber City of the South”.