Cerro Arenal Natural Reserve (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

: ''Reserva Natural Cerro Arenal'') is a

natural reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

with an area of 14.28 square kilometres in the

Cordillera A cordillera is an extensive chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly us ...

Dariense, it is located in the

Matagalpa department Matagalpa () is a department in central Nicaragua. It covers an area of 6,804 km2 and has a population of 600,057 (2021 est). The capital is the city of Matagalpa with a population of about 111,000. Matagalpa is the second largest region o ...

in central

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

. The Cerro Arenal Natural Reserve was declared a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

on November 4, 1991, it compromises 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 ...

and is managed by

Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA), is in charge of environmental protection and of the study, planning, and management of the Nicaragua's natural resources. It was formerly known as the Nicaraguan Institute of Natura ...

(MARENA). The highest point in the reserve is located inside a tropical cloud forest 1,570 meters above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

, rain occurs 8 months annually, between May and December. Cerro Arenal Natural Reserve is one of the smallest protected areas of Nicaragua and is abundant with

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''biota''. Zoo ...

. Many animals are present throughout the reserve, animals such as monkeys, and armadillos. The reserve also contains the oldest oak trees in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

References

Protected areas of Nicaragua Matagalpa Department {{Nicaragua-protected-area-stub