The Somoto Canyon National Monument protected area covers an area of approximately 170 hectares (420 acres),[3] of which 125 hectares (310 acres) are in the actual zone of the canyon.

[5] 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).

[3] The canyon is believed to have formed 5 to 13 million years ago during the Miocene period.

[3] 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.