Ometepe

Last updated
Ometepe Island
Ometepemap.png
Nicaragua location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ometepe Island
Geography
Location Lake Nicaragua (Lake Cocibolca)
Coordinates 11°30′N85°35′W / 11.500°N 85.583°W / 11.500; -85.583
Total islands1
Major islands1
Area276 km2 (107 sq mi)
Length31 km (19.3 mi)
Width10 km (6 mi)
Highest elevation1,610 m (5280 ft)
Highest point Concepción
Administration
Department Rivas
Largest settlement Altagracia (pop. 4,081)
Demographics
Population29,684 (June 2005)
Pop. density107.6/km2 (278.7/sq mi)

Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes rising out of Lake Nicaragua, located in the Rivas Department of the Republic of Nicaragua. Its name derives from the Nahuatl words ome (two) and tepetl (mountain), meaning "two mountains". [1] It is the largest island in Lake Nicaragua.

Contents

The two volcanoes (Concepción and Maderas) are joined by a low isthmus to form one island. Ometepe has an area of 276 square kilometres (107 sq mi). It is 31 kilometres (19 mi) long and 5 to 10 kilometres (3.1 to 6.2 mi) wide. [2] The island has an economy based on livestock, agriculture, and tourism. Plantains are the major crop.

Inhabitants

The island first became inhabited during the Dinarte phase (c. 2000 BC – 500 BC), although evidence is questionable. The first known inhabitants were speakers of Macro-Chibchan languages. Traces of this past can still be found in petroglyphs and stone idols on the northern slopes of the Maderas volcano. The oldest date from 300 BC. Several centuries later, Chorotega and Nicarao people continued to add to the petroglyphs and created statues on Ometepe carved from basalt rock.

After the Spaniards conquered the Central American region in the 16th century, pirates began prowling Lake Nicaragua. They came in from the Caribbean Sea via the San Juan River. The inhabitants of Ometepe were hard hit. The pirates kidnapped women, stole the inhabitants' animals, possessions, and harvest, and erected settlements on the shore, making it their refuge. This made the local population move to higher grounds on the volcanoes in search of shelter. The island was finally settled by the Spanish conquistadors at the end of the 16th century.

The most important villages on the island are Altagracia (pop. 4081), on the northeastern side, and Moyogalpa (pop. 2905), with its harbor on the northwestern side of the island. These two villages are the centers of the two municipalities and the island is divided between the two. Many traditions have been kept alive, thus inhabitants of Ometepe celebrate more religious and folk festivals than anywhere else in Nicaragua.

Today, Ometepe is developing tourism and ecotourism, with the archaeological past and the bounty of its nature sanctuary, the exotic vegetation, animal and bird life as drawcards. Ometepe Airport opened in 2014. [3] [4]

Volcanoes

View of Volcan Concepcion Concepcion volcano in Nicaragua 2012.jpg
View of Volcán Concepción

Concepción (volcano)| is on the northwest half of the island. It has a base of 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) beneath its symmetrical cone, and it is an active volcano. [5] [6] [7] Because of its symmetry, it has been considered extremely beautiful. The volcano is believed to have risen in the early Holocene epoch and, through continual eruptions, now reaches an altitude of 1,610 metres (5,280 ft) making Ometepe the world's highest lake island.[ citation needed ]

After a long period of dormancy, an eruption began at Concepción on December 8, 1880. This eruption was extensive, and the volcano remained active for a year. More eruptions followed in 1883, 1889, 1902, 1907, and 1924. In 2005, an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale occurred as a result of increasing pressure within the volcano. Cracks appeared on roads throughout the island and an advisory to leave the island was issued. This was the first minor eruption since 1999. The most recent eruption was in 2010 and although it was extremely violent, few of the inhabitants heeded the order from the government in Managua to evacuate the island and little damage was done.[ citation needed ]

Concepcion and Maderas Ometepe.jpg
Concepción and Maderas

The southeast half of the island consists of Maderas, which has a crater lake and supports a diverse rainforest environment. Maderas is also believed to have risen in the Holocene epoch and rises 1,394 metres (4,573 ft) above sea level. It is considered extinct or possibly dormant. The large lagoon in its crater was discovered on April 15, 1930, by farmer Casimiro Murillo. The sides of the volcano are mainly covered with coffee and tobacco plantations while the remainder is rain forest. Much of this part of the island is now a nature reserve. [8]

The volcanic ash has made the soil of this island extremely fertile, allowing continuous planting. The volcanoes are visible from everywhere on the island, and life on Ometepe revolves closely around them. They also play an important part in the myths and legends of the island, which once served as an indigenous burial ground.

IUGS geological heritage site

In respect of it being 'a type example of volcano spreading and volcano-tectonic interactions in the volcanic arc sedimentary basin of Lake Nicaragua', the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) included 'La Isla de Ometepe: Quaternary volcanoes in the Lake Nicaragua sedimentary basin' in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022. The organisation defines an IUGS Geological Heritage Site as 'a key place with geological elements and/or processes of international scientific relevance, used as a reference, and/or with a substantial contribution to the development of geological sciences through history.' [9]

Archaeology

Children standing by a pre-Columbian stone idol Statue and children omotepe.jpg
Children standing by a pre-Columbian stone idol

Ometepe Island is generally included within the archaeological area of "Greater Nicoya", which also encompasses the Rivas area on the lake shore and descends into Costa Rican Nicoya Peninsula. Due to deposits of volcanic ash over millennia, the soil is very fertile, allowing constant planting without fallowing. This rich environment has allowed the island to be continuously inhabited since the Dinarte phase (c. 2000 BC – 500 BC). There is a time period classified as the “Ometepe period” (AD 1350 – 1550) or "Greater Nicoyan Period", which corresponds to the Mesoamerican Postclassic period. This period is associated with the migration of the Nicarao (Nahua speakers) into the area of Greater Nicoya. [10]

The archaeologists who have done fieldwork on the island over the years are:

Ceramics

Dr. Gordon Willey and Albert Norweb excavated the Cruz site (named after the Cruz Hacienda), on the North East part of the island. This site is important because it produced nearly 30,000 sherds, most of which belonged to the Late Polychrome Period. The upper levels of the site produced the diagnostic ceramic types which came to define the Late Polychrome Period for the whole of the Rivas area. Pieces were also found from the San Jorge phase of the Zoned Bichrome Period. [12]

The Ceramic Type "Ometepe Red Slipped-Incised" is found on Ometepe Island. It is a Late Polychrome Period ceramic type, and it is usually found in the form of jar sherds. This type of ceramic is identifiable because it is scraped on both the inside and out, and smoothing and polishing is done on the exterior body and rim. The slip, over the rim and outside, is a dull red to brown, while only the inside of the neck is slipped. Lines are cut into the lip of the jar, and triangles are the most common motif, either interlocking or meeting tip to tip. Other ceramic types found on the island include: Granada Polychrome from the Middle Polychrome Period, Castillo Late Polychrome, and Luna Ware Polychrome. [12]

Petroglyphs

Petroglyph Petroglifo Ometefe.jpg
Petroglyph
Spiral petroglyphs on Ometepe PetroglyphOmetepe 01.jpg
Spiral petroglyphs on Ometepe
Petroglyph on Ometepe at base of Maderas Petroglyph on Ometepe.jpg
Petroglyph on Ometepe at base of Maderas

The Ometepe Petroglyph Project was a volunteer field survey of the Maderas half of Ometepe from 1995 to 1999. This project intensively surveyed 15 km of the Maderas half of the island over five field seasons. The project mapped 73 archaeological sites within this 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) area, including almost 1700 petroglyph panels on 1400 boulders.

Of the 73 sites surveyed by the Ometepe Petroglyph Project, petroglyphs were recorded at all but one. Many of the petroglyphs on Ometepe contain spirals, and “meander” across the rock face. Stylized turtles are a common motif for the area.

The petroglyphs of Ometepe include some forms which are less common. Figures in many of the depictions are described as having “bowling ball faces” on human figures. As noted above, spirals are common, and are apparently used in several ways. Two attached spirals appear to represent the island, with its two volcanoes. Spirals also are used to depict the head of anthropomorphic figures. Some figures resemble Mesoamerican depictions of Nagual, suggesting the shared practice of Tonal spirituality. [13]

Some of the unusual formations seen within the petroglyphs on Ometepe include seats or steps carved into boulders, ovals, and big grooves. The purpose behind these forms has not yet been explained.

Between the 1995 and 1996 field seasons, ten sites were recorded. The greatest concentration of petroglyphs was noted at N-RIO-3, probably recorded by Haberland as Om-38. Located along the slopes and at the top and of a ridge, the site contains 82 boulders with petroglyphs, six mortars, two metates and a scatter of ceramics and chert lithics. Of the 149 petroglyphs recorded during 1996, most were located on land owned by the cooperative at the hacienda. When the program was expanded in 1997, to include volunteers, 20 volunteers participated in recording fifteen additional sites. The most impressive site, N-RIO-19, was greater than 180,000 square meters in area. Ninety-two petroglyphs, over 30 house mounds, stone statuary fragments, and pottery from at least three different periods of occupation were recorded at the site, and the material was being studied in Managua.

The Ometepe Petroglyph project is an interesting example of modern technology assisting in the recording of archaeological sites. As the prehistoric art sites were being surveyed and recorded, pictures were taken of each site in both color and black and white. A video was even made at one site. Photos were then uploaded into a computer, and the Photoshop program was then used to increase the contrast of the photos, increasing the visibility of the petroglyphs pictured. This allowed for a more accurate record of sites that by necessity were photographed in less than ideal conditions and lighting. In addition to the remote area and poor lighting, on Ometepe Island, the depth of the engraved lines on petroglyphs thus far recorded varies from “immeasurably shallow” to around three centimeters (Ometepe Petroglyph Project Website, 2006).

Wildlife

Charco Verde Nature Reserve on Ometepe Nicaragua 836.jpg
Charco Verde Nature Reserve on Ometepe

Ometepe harbors large populations of the white-faced capuchin monkey, also called white-headed capuchin, (Cebus capucinus) and populations of the mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata). Efforts are being made to study and protect these animals. The Ometepe Biological Field School is situated on the Maderas side of the island. Here, students and scientists from all over the world come to study the unique flora and fauna of the area. The lake surrounding Ometepe harbors many species of aquatic animals, notably the Nicaragua shark which until recently was thought to be a unique species of freshwater shark but has since been shown to be continuous with ocean populations. [14] Small populations of spider monkeys (Ateles s.) inhabit very small islands within Lake Nicaragua. These populations exist solely due to humans and many of the local fishermen routinely stop by to feed these troops. The local form of the rice rat Oryzomys couesi is distinctive and may represent a separate subspecies. [15]

Transportation

Ometepe La Paloma Airport (OMT) serves the island with service from La Costeña. [16] The airlines offers flights to Managua, San Carlos, and San Juan de Nicaragua (Greytown). Flights to Managua operated twice a week, every Thursday and Sunday. [16] [17] The flights were discontinued due to low demand. [18] There are three ferry ports on the island and there are regular ferries and lanchas [19] to and from San Carlos and Granada twice a week (seasonally and at night [20] ) as well as several times a day to and from San Jorge, Rivas. The roads on the island have recently been paved with concrete pavers for all the major roads on the island. the secondary roads outside the cities are all dirt or gravel and often heavily washed out and not passable without 4WD or a motorcycle. [21]

Tourism

In 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the island of Ometepe had 141,178 tourist arrivals. [22] The majority arrive between mid-November and mid-May. [22] The majority of the visitors arrive via ferry from San Jorge to Moyogalpa. [20]

See also

Notes

  1. Cerna, Celeste (August 4, 2016). "Unite a la aventura y explorá la Isla de Ometepe" [Join the adventure and explore the Island of Ometepe]. El Nuevo Diario (in Spanish). Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  2. "Tourism: Island of Ometepe". EAAI. Archived from the original on 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  3. Ometepe Island Inaugurates Airport with First Flight Archived June 12, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  4. La Paloma Airport [ permanent dead link ]
  5. Scheffel, Richard L.; Wernet, Susan J., eds. (1980). Natural Wonders of the World. United States of America: Reader's Digest Association, Inc. p. 280. ISBN   0-89577-087-3.
  6. "Ometepe Island Info - Volcán Concepción". ometepeislandinfo.com. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  7. Baker, Suzanne. "Petroglyph Types found on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua". Culturelink Fieldwork Project. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  8. "Volcán Maderas" . Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  9. "The First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites" (PDF). IUGS International Commission on Geoheritage. IUGS. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  10. McCafferty & Steinbrenner 2005.
  11. Baker, Suzanne M. (2010). The Rock Art of Ometepe Island Nicaragua: Motif Classification Quantification and Regional Comparisons. Oxford, England: Archaeopress. ISBN   978-1-4073-0560-8.
  12. 1 2 Healy 1980.
  13. Manion, Jessica (2016). "Remembering the Ancestors: Mortuary Practices and Social Memory in Pacific Nicaragua" (PDF). University of Calgary. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  14. Shark gallery Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  15. Jones, J.K., Jr. and Engstrom, M.D. 1986. Synopsis of the rice rats (genus Oryzomys) of Nicaragua. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University 103:1–23.
  16. 1 2 "Ometepe Island Info - Flying Into Our New Airport!". ometepeislandinfo.com. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  17. Tim Rogers (14 May 2014). "Ometepe Island opens overdue airport". Nicaragua Dispatch.
  18. "Flights from to Ometepe Island in Nicaragua". ometepenicaragua.com. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
  19. "Ferry Ports". ometepeislandinfo.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  20. 1 2 "Ferry Schedule". ometepeislandinfo.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  21. "Ometepe Island Info - Getting Around On The Island". ometepeislandinfo.com. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  22. 1 2 "Estadísticas de Turismo" (in Spanish). Instituto Nicaragüense de Turismo. pp. 1–90. Retrieved 19 May 2023.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granada, Nicaragua</span> Municipality in Granada Department, Nicaragua

Granada is a city in western Nicaragua and the capital of the Granada Department. With an estimated population of 105,862 (2022), it is Nicaragua's ninth most populous city. Granada is historically one of Nicaragua's most important cities, economically and politically. It has a rich colonial heritage, seen in its architecture and structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poás Volcano</span> Mountain in Costa Rica

The Poás Volcano, is an active 2,697-metre (8,848 ft) stratovolcano in central Costa Rica and is located within Poas Volcano National Park. It has erupted 40 times since 1828, including April 2017 when visitors and residents were evacuated. The volcano and surrounding park were closed for nearly 17 months, with a 2.5 kilometer safety perimeter established around the erupting crater. On September 1, 2018, the park reopened with limited access only to the crater observation area and required a reservation to be made on the National Park Website. Adjacent trails to Lake Botos as well as the museum at the visitor center remained closed. The volcano erupted briefly twice in September 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concepción (volcano)</span> Volcano in Nicaragua

Concepción is one of two volcanoes that form the island of Ometepe, which is situated in Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua, Central America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maderas</span> Volcano in Nicaragua

With a height of 1,394 metres (4,573 ft), Maderas is the smaller of the two volcanoes which make up the island of Ometepe. The volcano, and the island upon which it sits, is situated in Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua, Central America. Unlike Concepción, the other volcano on the island, Maderas has not been active in historical times. Its crater contains a crater lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masaya Volcano</span> Active complex volcano in Nicaragua

Masaya is a caldera located in Masaya, Nicaragua, 20 km (12 mi) south of the capital Managua. It is Nicaragua's first and largest national park, and one of 78 protected areas of Nicaragua. The complex volcano is composed of a nested set of calderas and craters, the largest of which is Las Sierras shield volcano and caldera. Within this caldera lies a sub-vent, which is Masaya Volcano sensu stricto. The vent is a shield type composing of basaltic lavas and tephras and includes a summit crater. This hosts Masaya caldera, formed 2,500 years ago by an 8 km3 (1.9 cu mi) basaltic ignimbrite eruption. Inside this caldera a new basaltic complex has grown from eruptions mainly on a semi-circular set of vents that include the Masaya and Nindiri cones. The latter host the pit craters of Masaya, Santiago, Nindiri and San Pedro. Observations in the walls of the pit craters indicate that there have been several episodes of cone and pit crater formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altagracia</span> Municipality in Rivas Department, Nicaragua

Altagracia is a municipality in the Rivas Department of Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moyogalpa</span> Municipality in Rivas, Nicaragua

Moyogalpa is a municipality in the Rivas department of Nicaragua. Moyogalpa is the largest village and the home of the largest of the three ferry ports on Ometepe Island. There are multiple hotels, hostels, and restaurants on the island, along with small shops called "Pulperias" selling a variety of items from snacks to basic clothing. In 2016, Walmart opened a Pali Supermarket in Moyogalpa to serve the 40,000+ island population, including many expats and the thousands of visiting tourists. Since opening Pali, many of the small pulperias have improved their own meat, produce and items for sale displays, adding many items not offered by Pali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Nicaragua</span>

Tourism in Nicaragua has grown considerably recently, and it is now the second largest industry in the nation. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has stated his intention to use tourism to combat poverty throughout the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Nicaragua-related articles</span>

The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to Nicaragua.

Volcán Maderas Natural Reserve is a nature reserve on the island of Ometepe in Nicaragua. The reserve contains Volcán Maderas, an extinct 1,394 volcano surround by a cloud forest, The crater contains a lagoon. The reserve requires that any climbing the volcano hire a guide.

The Ometepe Biological Field School, located in San Ramón, Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, is one of two field school operated by the Maderas Rainforest Conservancy. It houses courses in primatology, ecology, botany, and other courses related to the flora and fauna of Ometepe, Nicaragua. It was established in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Placeres</span>

Los Placeres is an archeological site located between the “Waspán” and “Tabacalera Nicaragüense” neighborhoods at kilometer 412 of the “Carretera Norte”, in Managua, en Nicaragua. The site extends to the coast of Lake Managua. A large part of the area that delimits the site is being impacted by a new urban settlement known as Barrio Hugo Chávez, which divides the site, where its new settlers have disturbed the ground for installation of pipes for drinking water, toilet and housing, this activity has caused a serious incidental findings and impacts to the prehispanic archaeological site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zapatera (archaeological site)</span> Archaeological site in Nicaragua

Zapatera is an archaeological site located on Isla Zapatera, a volcanic island in Lake Nicaragua, Granada Department, Nicaragua. The large quantity of statues, petroglyphs and pottery found at the site, and on other islands in the Zapatera archipelago, suggests the area was an important ceremonial centre of pre-Columbian Chorotega people between 800 and 1350 CE.

Ometepe Island is an important archaeological site, located in the Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua, administratively belongs to the Rivas Department. Its name derives from the Nahuatl words ome (two) and tepetl (mountain), meaning two mountains, given that it is formed and practically the whole island is formed by two volcanoes: Concepción and Maderas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Ceibo Museums</span> Archaeological museum in Ometepe, Nicaragua

El Ceibo is a museum in the Ometepe island in what once were the tobacco farm “Tel Aviv” kilns, known by its former name “El Refugio”, in the community of Sacramento, 10 kilometers from Moyogalpa in Lake Cocibolca or Lake Nicaragua administratively Ometepe Island belongs to the Rivas Department. The name of the island derives from the Nahuatl: ōme 'two' and tepētl 'mountain (s),' since it is almost entirely composed of two volcanic cones: Concepción (volcano) and Maderas volcano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santorini caldera</span> Submerged caldera in the Aegean Sea

Santorini caldera is a large, mostly submerged caldera, located in the southern Aegean Sea, 120 kilometers north of Crete in Greece. Visible above water is the circular Santorini island group, consisting of Santorini, the main island, Therasia and Aspronisi at the periphery, and the Kameni islands at the center. It has been designated a Decade Volcano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ometepe Airport</span> Airport

Ometepe Airport is the only airport on Ometepe, the largest island in Lake Nicaragua. The airport is in the La Paloma comarca of Moyogalpa, Rivas Department, Nicaragua, 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) south of Moyogalpa.

The Pedregal rock art site is located in the most northwest corner of Costa Rica only 20 km away from the Nicaraguan border. Its ground monuments belong to the Cordillera de Guanacaste mountain range, situated in the correspondent province of Guanacaste. The whole Pedregal archaeological zone forms part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area (GCA) and has been declared an UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 1999. The first scientific report on its rock art monuments dates from 1989 and is listed in the archaeological database of the Costa Rican National Museum under the sites key G-540-Pd.

The Pedregal rock art site is located in the most northwest corner of Costa Rica and lies only 20 km away from the Nicaraguan border. Its outstanding ground monuments belong to the Cordillera de Guanacaste mountain range, situated in the correspondent province of Guanacaste. The whole Pedregal archaeological zone forms part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area (GCA) and has been declared an UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 1999. The first scientific report on its rock art monuments dates from 1989 and is listed in the archaeological database of the Costa Rican National Museum under the sites key G-540-Pd.

References