Xolotlan Lake

Lake Xolotlán, also called Lake Managua, lies in western Nicaragua beneath a chain of volcanoes. Momotombo rises beside its western shore, and the Tipitapa River connects the lake with the larger Lake Nicaragua when water levels permit. In 1524 the Spanish founded León near the lake and the volcano. Earthquakes and eruptions later threatened the settlement, which was moved away in 1610.