Mombacho is a stratovolcano in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

, near the city of Granada. It is high. The Mombacho Volcano Nature Reserve is one of 78

protected areas of Nicaragua The protected areas of Nicaragua are areas that have natural beauty or significance and are protected by Nicaragua. Nicaragua has 78 protected areas that cover 22,422 km2, about 17.3% of the nations landmass. The National System of Protected Area ...

. Mombacho’s last eruption occurred in 1570. There is no historical knowledge of earlier eruptions. The highest regions of the volcano are home to a cloud forest and

dwarf forest Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is an uncommon ecosystem featuring miniature trees, inhabited by small species of fauna such as rodents and lizards. They are usually located at high elevations, under conditions of sufficient air humi ...

, which contain flora and fauna

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

purely to the volcano. An increasingly popular tourist attraction, the volcano has views of

Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada ( es, Lago de Nicaragua, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the t ...

and the city of Granada. The volcano also has two hiking trails, a moderate one that circles the main crater, and another, more difficult trail (El Puma), which must be led by a guide. The more difficult trail is the only way to see some features such as the dwarf forest. The trail is almost completely 45° inclines and declines for about two miles. More than 700 different plants are registered around Mombacho, including many species of

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

Images of Mombacho

File:Mombacho.JPG, Slope File:Mombacho crater.JPG, Crater File:Mombacho april 13 2009.jpg, Panorama taken on Mombacho File:Mombacho far.jpg, Mombacho from a distance File:Mombacho from Granada.jpg, Mombacho from Granada.

References

{{Authority control Stratovolcanoes of Nicaragua Mountains of Nicaragua Protected areas of Nicaragua

Images of Mombacho

See also

References