Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua

Ometepe Island from space, January 1997

The Island of Ometepe was formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. Its name derives from the Nahuatl words Ome = two and Tepetl = mountain, meaning two mountains. The Volcanoes, Concepción and Maderas, are joined by a low isthmus to form one island, giving it the form of an hourglass. Ometepe has an area of 276 km². It is 31 km long and 5 to 10 km wide. The island has a population of 35,000, and an economy based on livestock, agriculture, and tourism. Plantains are the major crop. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (639x639, 111 KB) Ometepe Island, Nicaragua - January 1997 image description here File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (639x639, 111 KB) Ometepe Island, Nicaragua - January 1997 image description here File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ... Lake Nicaragua (Spanish: Lago de Nicaragua) or Lake Cocibolca (Lago Cocibolca) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua and it is of tectonic origin. ... Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ... Concepción is one of the two volcanoes which make up the island of Ometepe, situated in Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua, Central America. ... With a height of 1,394 m, Maderas is the smaller of the two volcanoes which make up the island of Ometepe, situated in Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua, Central America. ... The Isthmus of Panama connects North and South America. ... Hourglass in 3-legged wooden stand. ... A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ... km redirects here. ... Tourists on Oahu, Hawaii Tourism is travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes or the provision of services to support this leisure travel. ... Plantain is the common name for two very different plants. ...

The two volcanoes

Volcán Concepción (once named Ometepe volcano) is the northwest half of the island. Concepción is a symmetrical cone, and is still considered an active volcano (Baker, 2006). Concepción volcano rose in the early Holocene Epoch and, through continual eruptions, now reaches an altitude of 1 610 m. It is the world's highest lake island. This volcano is considered the most perfectly formed volcano cone in Central America. The volcano went through a long quiet period, but on 8 December 1880 Concepción came back to life. This eruption was extensive, and the volcano remained active for a year. More eruptions followed in 1883, 1889, 1902, 1907, and 1924. The most recent eruption was in 1957. This eruption was extremely violent; however few of the island's inhabitants heeded the order from the government in Managua to evacuate the island. Tourists visiting this volcano are accompanied by noisy howler monkeys and green parrots. The Holocene epoch is a geological period that extends from the present day back to about 10,000 radiocarbon years, approximately 11,430 ± 130 calendar years BP (between 9560 and 9300 BC). ... Eruption can refer to: Volcanic eruption The eruption of teeth through the gum Eruption (band) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... is the 342nd day of the year (343rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Coordinates: Country Nicaragua Department Managua Municipality Managua Founded 1819 Seat of the Government 1852 Capital of the Nation 1857  - Mayor Dionisio Marenco Area    - City 544 km²  - Urban 173. ... Type species Simia belzebul Linnaeus, 1766 Species Alouatta coibensis Alouatta palliata Alouatta pigra Alouatta belzebul Alouatta guariba Alouatta macconnelli Alouatta nigerrima Alouatta sara Alouatta seniculus Alouatta caraya The howler monkeys (genus Alouatta monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are among the largest of the New World monkeys. ... It has been suggested that True parrots be merged into this article or section. ...

The southeast half of the island consists of Volcán Madera, which has a crater lake and supports a diverse rainforest environment. Maderas volcano, at the other end of the island, also arose in the Holocene Epoch, and rises 1 394 m above sea level. The last eruption occurred in the 13th century. It is considered extinct or dormant. A large lagoon formed in its crater, and was discovered on 15 April 1930 by the farmer Casimiro Murillo. It is covered with coffee and tobacco plantations and the remaining rain forest. This volcano is a perfect destination for the ecotourist. Much of this part of the island is now a nature reserve. For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... This mid bay barrier in Narrabeen, a suburb of Sydney (Australia), has blocked what used to be a bay to form a lagoon. ... Craters on Mount Cameroon Perhaps the most conspicuous part of a volcano is the crater, a basin of a roughly circular form within which occurs a vent (or vents) from which magma erupts as gases, lava, and ejecta. ... is the 105th day of the year (106th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ecotourism means ecological tourism, where ecological has both environmental and social connotations. ...

The volcanic ash has made the soil of this island extremely fertile, allowing continuous planting without fallowing. 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 Indian burial ground. Ash plume from Mt Cleveland, a stratovolcano Diamond Head, a well-known backdrop to Waikiki in Hawaii, is an ash cone that solidified into tuff Volcanic ash consists of very fine rock and mineral particles less than 2 mm in diameter that are ejected from a volcanic vent. ... Fertility is the natural capability of giving life. ...

The inhabitants of Ometepe

Children standing by a pre-Columbian stone idol

The island first became inhabited in the Dinarte phase (ca 2000-500 BC), although evidence is sketchy. The first known inhabitants were Nahua Indians from Mexico. In their footsteps came the Niquirano Indians, who established an important settlement on the island. Their ceramics and monuments still amaze. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1536 × 2048 pixel, file size: 731 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1536 × 2048 pixel, file size: 731 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... (Redirected from 2000 BC) (21st century BC - 20th century BC - 19th century BC - other centuries) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 2064 - 1986 BC -- Twin Dynasty wars in Egypt 2000 BC -- Farmers and herders travel south from Ethiopia and settle in Kenya. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC Events and Trends 509 BC - Foundation of the Roman Republic 508 BC - Office of pontifex maximus created... The Nahua are a group of indigenous peoples of Mexico. ... Ancient Egyptian ceramic art: Louvre Museum. ... The Taj Mahal, commissioned by the Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum for his wife, Arjumand Banu Begum. ...

Traces of this past can still be found in petroglyphs and stone idols on the northern slopes of Maderas volcano. The oldest date from 300 BC. Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument, southern Utah, USA Petroglyphs are images created by removing part of a rock surfaces by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading. ... Idolatry is a major sin in the Abrahamic religions regarding image. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC - 300s BC - 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC Years: 305 BC 304 BC 303 BC 302 BC 301 BC - 300 BC - 299 BC 298 BC...

After the Spaniards had 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 robbed them of their women, animals, possessions and harvest. They also erected settlements on the shore, making it their refuge. This made the local population, seeking shelter, move to higher grounds on the volcanoes. Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Look up pirate and piracy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Lake Nicaragua (Spanish: Lago de Nicaragua) or Lake Cocibolca (Lago Cocibolca) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua and it is of tectonic origin. ... Map of Central America and the Caribbean Caribbean Sea from space (top left). ...

Ometepe was finally annexed, through settlement, by the Spanish conquistadors at the end of the 16th century. But French, English (such as Francis Drake) and Dutch pirates still endangered the island till the late 17th century. Conquistadors (Spanish: []) (English: Conqueror) were Spanish soldiers, explorers and adventurers who invaded and conquered much of the Americas and Asia Pacific, bringing them under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 17th centuries, starting with the 1492 settlement by Christopher Columbus in what is now the Bahamas // Hernán Cort... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Monarch Queen Elizabeth II... Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral, (c. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ...

The most important villages on the island are Moyogalpa, with its harbour, and Altagracia on the eastern side of the island. Many traditions are kept alive. They celebrate more religious and folk festivals than anywhere in Nicaragua. A festival is an event, usually staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community. ...

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 trump cards. Tourists on Oahu, Hawaii Tourism is travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes or the provision of services to support this leisure travel. ... Ecotourism means ecological tourism, where ecological has both environmental and social connotations. ... This July 2007 does not cite any references or sources. ...

More recently in 2005, an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale occurred as a result of increasing pressure within the active Concepción volcano. Cracks appeared in the roads on Ometepe and advice to leave the island was issued. This was the first minor eruption since 1999. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of stored energy in the Earths crust that creates seismic waves. ... The Richter magnitude test scale (or more correctly local magnitude ML scale) assigns a single number to quantify the size of an earthquake. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ...

Archaeology of Ometepe Island

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 the deposits of volcanic ash over the 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 (ca. 2000 – 500 B.C.). There is a classified “Ometepe period” (A.D. 1350 – 1550) Greater Nicoyan Period, which corresponds to Mesoamerican Postclassic period. This period is associated with the migration of the Nicarao (Nahua speakers) into the area of Greater Nicoya (McCafferty & Steinbrenner, 2005). This July 2007 does not cite any references or sources. ... Nicoya is a town in Costa Rica, and one of its most important tourist zones. ... Location of Mesoamerica in the Americas. ... Nicarao is the name of the then-leader and/or the capital city of the most populous indigenous tribe when the Spanish arrived in Nicaragua. ...

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

• 1880’s: J.F. Bransford
• 1959-1961: excavations by Dr. Gordon Wiley and Albert Norweb.
• 1962: Wolfgang Haberland and Peter Schmidt
• 1995 – 1999: Susan Baker - Ometepe Petroglyph Project

One of the functions of art is to offer a more desirable reality; a model as it were, of another style of existence with its own pace and its own cultural reference. ...

Ceramics of Ometepe

Dr. Gordon Wiley 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 (Healy, 1980).

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 (Healy, 1980).

Petroglyphs of Ometepe

Petroglyph

The Ometepe Petroglyph Project was a volunteer field survey of the Maderas half of Ometepe from 1995 – 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 km area, including almost 1700 petroglyph panels on 1400 boulders. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 495 pixelsFull resolution (950 × 588 pixel, file size: 210 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Petroglifo en la Isla de Ometepe. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 495 pixelsFull resolution (950 × 588 pixel, file size: 210 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Petroglifo en la Isla de Ometepe. ... Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument, southern Utah, USA Petroglyphs are images created by removing part of a rock surfaces by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading. ...

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. Diversity ca. ...

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 anthromorphic figures. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

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 sited were being surveyed and recorded, pictures were and taken of each site in both black and white. A video was even made at one site. Photos were then uploaded into a computer, and the Photoshop program was then use 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). A metate is the large stone slab on which grain is crushed with a mano. ... Chert Chert (IPA: ) is a fine-grained silica-rich cryptocrystalline sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. ... In archaeology, a lithic flake is a thin, sharp fragment of stone that results from the process of lithic reduction. ... Adobe Photoshop is a bitmap graphics editor (with some text and vector graphics capabilities) published by Adobe Systems. ...

Wildlife In Ometepe

Main article: Wildlife of Nicaragua

Ometepe harbors large populations of the White-faced Capuchin monkey, also called White-headed Capuchin (Cebus capucinus). Efforts have been put in effect to protect these animals. The lake surrounding Ometepe harbours 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.^[1] Nicaragua has a wide variety of wildlife, most of which live in wildlife reserves and live in rainforests, lakes, mountains, and volcanoes throughout the country. ... Binomial name Cebus capucinus (Linnaeus, 1758) The White-headed Capuchin (Cebus capucinus), also known as the White-faced Capuchin or White-throated Capuchin, is a small New World monkey of the family Cebidae, subfamily Cebinae. ... Binomial name (Müller and Henle, 1839) Range of bull shark The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as the bull whaler, Zambezi shark or colloquially Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers. ...

Notes

References

• Baker, S. (2006). The Petroglyphs of Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. Retrieved October 24, 2006 from the world wide web at [1]
• Healy, P. (1980). Archaeology of the Rivas Region, Nicaragua. Ontario:Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• McCafferty, G., & Steinbrenner, L. (2005). "Chronological implications for Greater Nicoya from the Santa Isabel Project, Nicaragua.". Ancient Mesoamerica 16: 131-146.  abstract on line.
• Ometepe Petroglyph Project Website (2006). Retrieved October 30, 2006 from the world wide web at [2]

External links

• General and historical information
• Petroglyphs
• Archeology
• ViaNica.com - Ometepe Island Photos, hotels, restaurants, activities
• Images from Ometepe
• Photos of Ometepe
• Bainbridge Ometepe Sister Islands Association

Coordinates: 11°30′N, 85°35′W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Gallery

Concepción and Maderas ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 291 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Ometepe ...

A river in Ometepe Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 435 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Charco Verde Nature Reserve & lagoon on Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (960 × 1280 pixel, file size: 586 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) McKinley Bierman, a 2 year old traveller visiting from the United States, negotiates a wood plank bridge over an inlet of water from Lago de...

Concepción as seen from Finca Magdalena, Ometepe, Nicaragua Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 1. ...