| Somoto Canyon National Monument | |
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The Somoto Canyon National Monument |
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| Location | Madriz department, Nicaragua |
| Nearest city | El Espino |
| Coordinates | [1] |
| Area | 170.31 hectares (420.8 acres) |
| Established | 2005 |
| Governing body | Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources |
Somoto Canyon National Monument (Spanish:Monumento Nacional Cañón de Somoto) is a canyon located in the Madriz department of Nicaragua. The Somoto Canyon National Monument protected area covers an area of approximately 170.31 hectares (420.8 acres),[2] of which 125 hectares (310 acres) are in the actual zone of the canyon.
The Somoto Canyon was declared a national monument on November 29, 2005.[3] The Somoto Canyon National Monument comprises one of 78 protected areas of Nicaragua and is managed by Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA).
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The Somoto Canyon was relatively unexplored until a group of scientists from the Czech Republic and Nicaragua (INETER) discovered the canyon in 2004.[2] The canyon is believed to have formed 5 to 13 million years ago during the Miocene period.[2] After its discovery in 2004, the Somoto Canyon has been developing into a tourist attraction, further helping the growth of tourism in Nicaragua.[4] However, this has also had a negative effect with incidents such as graffiti being written on the walls of the Canyon since its discovery. MARENA and INETER send technicians to clean and repair the vandalism.[5]