Traces of this past can still be found in petroglyphs and stone idols on the northern slopes of the Maderas volcano.

Several centuries later, Chorotega and Nicarao people continued to add to the petroglyphs and created statues on Ometepe carved from basalt rock.

After the Spaniards conquered the Central American region in the 16th century, pirates began prowling Lake Nicaragua.

The pirates kidnapped women, stole the inhabitants' animals, possessions, and harvest, and erected settlements on the shore, making it their refuge.

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 drawcards.

The volcano is believed to have risen in the early Holocene epoch and, through continual eruptions, now reaches an altitude of 1,610 metres (5,280 ft) making Ometepe the world's highest lake island.

The most recent eruption was in 2010 and although it was extremely violent, few of the inhabitants heeded the order from the government in Managua to evacuate the island and little damage was done.

[citation needed] The southeast half of the island consists of Maderas, which has a crater lake and supports a diverse rainforest environment.

Maderas is also believed to have risen in the Holocene epoch and rises 1,394 metres (4,573 ft) above sea level.

[8] The volcanic ash has made the soil of this island extremely fertile, allowing continuous planting.

They also play an important part in the myths and legends of the island, which once served as an indigenous burial ground.

In respect of it being 'a type example of volcano spreading and volcano-tectonic interactions in the volcanic arc sedimentary basin of Lake Nicaragua', the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) included 'La Isla de Ometepe: Quaternary volcanoes in the Lake Nicaragua sedimentary basin' in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022.

Due to deposits of volcanic ash over millennia, the soil is very fertile, allowing constant planting without fallowing.

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.

The project mapped 73 archaeological sites within this 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) area, including almost 1700 petroglyph panels on 1400 boulders.

Some figures resemble Mesoamerican depictions of Nagual, suggesting the shared practice of Tonal spirituality.

[13] Some of the unusual formations seen within the petroglyphs on Ometepe include seats or steps carved into boulders, ovals, and big grooves.

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.

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.

These populations exist solely due to humans and many of the local fishermen routinely stop by to feed these troops.

The local form of the rice rat Oryzomys couesi is distinctive and may represent a separate subspecies.