LEON de Nicaragua, a town of North America, in New Spain, and in the province of Nicaragua; the residence of the governor, and a bishop's see. It consists of about 1000 houses, and has several monasteries and nunneries belonging to it. At one end of the town is a lake which ebbs and flows like the sea. The town is seated at the foot of a volcano, which renders it subject to earthquakes. It was taken by the bucaniers in 1685, in flight of a Spanish army who were six to one. W. Long. 86. 10. N. Lat. 12. 25.