About Bolivia
Even though the expedition will originate in
Chile, the bulk of investigations and studies
will begin on the Bolivian Side of the mountain
at the Lagunas. Licancabur is shared between
Chile and Bolivia, with the border running right over
the top of the mountain. The following information
refers to the geography associated with Bolivia.
Background Information About
Bolivia
Bolivia is the only landlocked Andean country.
It has a largely indigenous Indian population
that has preserved its native languages and much
of its traditional way of life. It borders Peru
and Chile in the west, Brazil in the east, and
Paraguay and Argentina in the south.
 General
Information
Area 1,098,581 sq. km (424,164 sq. mi.)
Capital City La Paz (Administrative)
Sucre (Judicial)
Gross National Product
per capita $ 570 (1988 estimate)
Currency unit Boliviano
Population 7,314,000 (1990 estimate)
Density 40.7 persons/sq. mi. (1986 estimate)
Urban-rural population 48.4 % urban, 51.6% rural
Natural increase 2.8% (1985-1990)
Illiteracy rate 25.8% (1985 estimate)
Highest point 22,700 ft (Ancohuma)
Main cities Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Cochabamba,
Oruro
National Holiday Independence Day, 5-7 August
Geography: Natural Regions
Structurally and climatically,
Bolivia consists of two main regions: the highlands
and the eastern
lowlands, divided between the Amazon and Parana
basins.
The Andes
The highlands of Bolivia consist of three distinct
parts: the Cordillera Occidental; the Altiplano;
and the Cordillera Oriental. The Cordillera Occidental
is part of the Andean range that extends along
the western fringe of South America. It features
many active volcanoes, part of a line of volcanoes
that runs from southwest Peru to Chile. There
is a distinct climatic difference between the
northern and southern parts of the Cordillera
Occidental; the latter are arid and almost inhabited.
In the north, some high valleys, with altitudes
of up to 14,000 feet, are inhabited by Indians
who engage in subsistence agriculture (mostly
irrigated) and pastoralism. With peaks of more
than 20,000 feet, steep slopes, and much volcanic
activity, the Cordillera Occidental is the least
inhabited part of Bolivian Highlands.
The Altiplano is a high plateau, 12,000-13,000
feet above sea level, which lies between the Occidental
and Oriental ranges. It broadest point is over
200 miles north Lake Poopo, where the Andes reach
their greatest width, approximately 400 miles.
The Altiplano is divided into a number of basins
by spurs of the Andes. The northernmost of these
basins, which extends into Peru, is partly occupied
by the Lake Titicaca, at 12,507 feet, the world's
highest large.
The Capital La Paz, the highest (11,900 feet)
large city in the world, is situated in a valley
southeast of Lake Titicaca below the rim of the
Altiplano. Part of the population of the Altiplano
since before the arrival of the Europeans has
been engaged in mining activities concentrated
around two main centers: Corocoro and Oruro. These
areas were important soucees of silver in the
Spanish colonial period.
The structure of the Cordillera Oriental is more
varied and complex, with distinctly different
landscapes and habitats in the northeast, which
follows a northwest to southeast direction, and
the south, which follows a north to south direction.
The northeastern part rises abruptly to great
heights above the Altiplano (the Titicaca basin
and La Paz Valley) and has snow-capped peaks of
over 21,000 feet. The eastern slopes are densily
covered by forest and are known as the Yungas,
the wettest part of the Bolivian Andes.
The southern part (from the vicinity of Santa
Cruz) rises abruptly from the Altiplano is a precipitous
escarpment but has a less rigged upper surface
that slopes gently toward the eastern lowlands.
This high level surface of 12,000-14,000 feet
is surmounted by a number of short ranges with
higher peaks. Known as the Puna, this moderatly
high surface has a number of rivers that drain
parts of the Altiplano and the Cordillera Oriental
into the Paraguay River and the Parana basin.
Natural conditions in the basins and valleys of
the Cordillera Oriental are much more favorable
to human settlement than those of the Cordillera
Occidental and the Altiplano.
The Eastern Lowlands
In the eastern lowlands, there are distinct differences
between the natural features of the northeast
and those of the southeast. In the northeast the
Llanos de Mamore, which slopes gently to the Amazon
Basin, is well watered by rain and rivers and
has rich natural vegetation, while the southeast
the Gran Chaco, which slopes toward the Pilcomayo
and Paraguay rivers, is semiarid, with dry scrub
and savanna and occasional gallery forests along
the rivers. The eastern lowlands are sparsely
populated. The discovery of oil and natural gas,
the development of roads between Santa Cruz (the
region's main urban center) and the urban centers
of the Altiplano, and government-backed settlement
have resulted in a significant increase in population
in this region since 1950s. The eastern lowlands
are Bolivia's main source of tropical agricultural
products.
Climate
Altitude and the changes in annual precipitation
toward the southwest dominate the climate
of Bolivia.
Widely varing conditions can often be seen
over short disctances. Average seasonal temperatures
ranges are generally smaller than the average
diurnal ranges. The average temperatures
of
the
coldest (June/July) and the warmest (November)
months at La Paz (11,900 feet above sea
level)
are 43.5F and 51.8F, respectively.
Lake Titicaca, with nearly constant water temperature
of 51F throughout the year, has a moderating influence
on its surroundings; winter temperatures in its
environs are slightly higher then those at similar
altitudes elsewhere on the Altiplano. The southern
areas that form the Bolivian part of the Gran
Chaco have the highest temperatures in South America,
with highs of over 104F and an average of 82.5F
and 72F for the hottest and coolest months.
The rainy seasons lasts from approximately October
to March and is longer in the north. The southwestern
part of Bolivia is arid, and agriculture there
is largely dependent of irrigation. The northeastern
flanks of the lowlands have amount have abundant
rainfall (an annual average of over 60 inches).
The average annual precipitation at La Paz is
22.6 inches.
The extreme south is semiarid, with an average
annual rainfall of 20 inches and frequent drought.
The northern part of the eastern lowlands and
the adjacent lower slopes of the Cordillera Oriental
are covered by dense evergreen forests. The vegetation
of the Bolivia Chaco is that of a dry savanna
with scrublands, thorny bushes, and high grasses.
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