WThe 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 Areas (SINAP) is administered by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA).
WLaguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located between the departments of Masaya and Granada in Nicaragua. Lake Apoyo was declared a nature reserve in 1991 and is managed by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) and comprises one of 78 protected areas of Nicaragua. Geological data suggests that Lake Apoyo originated about 23,000 years ago.
WChiltepe Peninsula Natural Reserve is a nature reserve in Nicaragua. It is one of the 78 reserves which are officially under protection in the country.
WChocoyero-El Brujo Natural Reserve is located in the municipality of Ticuantepe in the Managua department of Nicaragua. Chocoyero-El Brujo is one of 78 protected areas in Nicaragua, and at just 455 acres (1.8 km2) this tropical forest is one of the smallest in size. Chocoyero-El Brujo was declared a natural reserve in 1993 is managed by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA).
WKligna Natural Reserve is a nature reserve in Nicaragua. It is one of the 78 reserves that are under official protection in the country.
WLos Guatuzos Wildlife Refuge has an area of 437.5 km2 (168.9 sq mi) and is located south of Lake Nicaragua and west of the San Juan River in Nicaragua. Los Guatuzos is a protected area consisting of tropical wetlands, rainforest, and wildlife refuge, it is the only internationally registered tropical wetland area in Nicaragua.
WMasaya is a caldera located in Masaya, Nicaragua, 20 km 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 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.
WThe Miskito Cays are an archipelago with an area of 27 km² located off shore in the northeastern Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, part of the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region. The Miskito Cays are composed of 76 formations that include estuaries, coral reefs, cays, seagrass beds, and islets, of which 12 of the formations are covered with vegetation and consequently form islands which are lined with white sand beaches.
WMombacho is a stratovolcano in Nicaragua, near the city of Granada. It is 1,344 metres (4,409 ft) high. The Mombacho Volcano Nature Reserve is one of 78 protected areas of Nicaragua. Mombacho is an extinct volcano, but the last eruption occurred in 1570. There is no historical knowledge of earlier eruptions.
WThe Solentiname Islands are an archipelago towards the southern end of Lake Nicaragua in the Nicaraguan department of Río San Juan.
WSomoto Canyon National Monument is a canyon located in the Madriz Department of Nicaragua. The Somoto Canyon National Monument protected area covers an area of approximately 170 hectares, of which 125 hectares are in the actual zone of the canyon.
WTepesomoto-Pataste Natural Reserve is a nature reserve in Nicaragua. It is one of the 78 reserves that are under official protection in the country.
WTiscapa Lagoon is a lagoon of volcanic origin that formed over 10,000 years ago. It is located in the capital city of Managua in Nicaragua, and covers an area of 0.13 km2. Tiscapa Lagoon was protected as a natural reserve on October 31, 1991. The reserve is managed by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) and comprises one of the 78 protected areas of Nicaragua.