Momotombo is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and peri ...

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 coun ...

, not far from the city of León. It stands on the shores of

Lago de Managua Lake Managua ( es, Lago de Managua, ), also known as Lake Xolotlán (), is a lake in Nicaragua. At 1,042 km², it is approximately long and wide. Similarly to the name of Lake Nicaragua, its other name comes from the Nahuatl language, pos ...

. An eruption of the volcano in 1610 forced inhabitants of the Spanish city of León to relocate about west. The ruins of this city are preserved at

León Viejo Ruins of León Viejo is a World Heritage Site in Nicaragua. It was the original location of León. It is the present location of the town of Puerto Momotombo in the Municipality of La Paz Centro of the Department of León. It is administered ...

(Old León). It also erupted in 1886, 1905, and most recently November 30, 2015. The mountain is very symmetrical, and its form is a symbol of

, cropping up in locations from matchboxes to revolutionary

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...

s. This volcano was also very popular before World War I began. Many tourists visited, especially in 1904, one year before the eruption. The Nicaraguan poet

Rubén Darío Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (January 18, 1867 – February 6, 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as ''modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...

wrote the poem "Momotombo". in its honor A major geothermal field is located on the southern flank of the volcano. To climb the mountain, with a permit cross through the

geothermal power Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 2 ...

plant and follow an easily marked trail through the treeline. Due to the active nature of the volcano and landslides, the route from the treeline to the top is constantly changing. The quickest way is straight up, through the small avalanche paths. It has a younger cone: , which is inside Lake Managua.

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External links

Climbing the Momotombo Volcano

Images of Momotombo
Stratovolcanoes of Nicaragua Active volcanoes Mountains of Nicaragua León Department Holocene stratovolcanoes {{Nicaragua-geo-stub

See also

References

External links