Near the northwest corner of the country, close to the border with Honduras, it forms a backdrop to the city of Chichigalpa, Chinandega.

Joined to the volcano's eastern flank is Volcán Casitas, which buried a village with a catastrophic landslide in 1998.

While the volcano was at one point covered in tropical forests, the large quantities of gas and smoke that it emits constantly have killed off much of the vegetation.

[2] San Cristóbal remains quite active, continuously expelling copious amounts of gas and smoke.

[7] In September 2012 it erupted again, spewing ash up to four kilometres (2.5 miles) into the atmosphere, resulting in the evacuation of around 3000 people in the surrounding area.