Mombacho is a

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

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, near the city of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. 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 A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

and

dwarf forest file:Hamiguitan bonsai tree.JPG, A "natural bonsai" in the Mount Hamiguitan List of national parks of the Philippines, National Park in the Philippines, a UNESCO World Heritage Site file:Mount Kemiri (8187817161).jpg, An elfin forest in Sumatra ...

, which contain flora and fauna

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

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

Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada (, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest fresh water lake in Central America, the List of lakes by area, 19th largest lake in the world (by are ...

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. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

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

. File:Mombacho taken from the Pan-American Highway.jpg, Mombacho with cloud cover photographed from the Pan-American Highway near El Calmito (Nicaragua).

References

{{Authority control Stratovolcanoes of Nicaragua Mountains of Nicaragua Protected areas of Nicaragua North American 1000 m summits

Images of Mombacho

See also

References