Cerro Negro vulcanoin Leon, Nicaragua

The youngest volcano in Latin America. It got its name - Black Hill - due to the black pieces of basalt and other volcanic slag.

The Black Mountain, as the nicaraguans call it, has a short height - just 728 meters. It appeared in 1850 and has erupted 23 times since then. The last eruption occurred in 1999 - most recently by the standards of a volcano's life.

The volcanic eruptions are very powerful, with ash emissions and a gushing lava, that`s why the volcano is covered with the thick layer of volcanic dust contrasting with the green hills nearby.


Photo: Main crater, © Ben Beiske

The volcano is a part of Cordillera de Maribios mountain chain and located on the territory of the National Park. Admission fee is charged at a checkpoint. This is one of the rare places where volcano boarding is practiced - riding on a special board on the slopes of the volcano.

There you can see a poster with a photo of the champion who descended here at a speed of 172 km per hour, but on a bicycle.