Bolivia has an array of landscapes from moon-like deserts to the colorful windswept plains

that look like Salvador Dali painted himself in the Western Highlands - to Amazonian
jungles, rare pink river dolphins and world renowned National Parks such as the Pantanal
near Brazil's border and Madidi in the Bolivian Amazon.
The desolation, vastness and vividness of Bolivia's southern Altiplano has come to be
nicknamed Salvador Dali's Desert by many international tourists.
The high altitude gives you a sense of being closer to the sky as clouds race by and the
blue atmosphere is unpolluted giving you some of the clearest skies in the world.
Southwest Bolivia is dotted with breath-taking lakes and lagoons colored from ice green
to deep reds.
The geography of Bolivia is unique among the nations of South America. Bolivia is one of
two landlocked countries on the continent ( the other being Paraguay), and Bolivia is more urban (67%)
than rural (23%). The main features of Bolivia's geography include the Altiplano, a highland plateau of
the Andes, and the highest navigable lake on Earth(which is shared with Peru).
The most prominent feature of the Altiplano is the large lake at its northern end, Lake Titicaca. At 3,811 m
(12,503 ft) above sea level, it is the highest commercially navigable body of water in the world. With a
surface area of 9,064 km2 (3,500 sq mi), it is larger than Puerto Rico and is South America's second largest
lake by surface area. Lake Titicaca is also deep, about 370 m (1,214 ft) at its deepest, but with an average
depth of 215 m (705 ft); its volume of water is large enough to maintain a constant temperature of 10 C
(50 F). The lake actually moderates the climate for a considerable distance around it, making crops
of maize and wheat possible in sheltered areas.
Lake Titicaca drains southward through the slow-moving, reed-filled Desaguadero River to Lake Poop. In
contrast to the freshwater Lake Titicaca, Lake Poop is salty yet shallow, with depths seldom more than
4 m (13 ft).

Colors of Altiplano Boliviano.

The Cordillera Occidental is a chain of dormant volcanoes and solfataras, volcanic

vents emitting sulfurous gases. Bolivia's highest peak, the snowcapped Nevado Sajama 6,542 m
(21,463 ft), is located here. The entire cordillera is of volcanic origin and an extension of the volcanic region
found in southern Peru. Most of the northern part of this range has an elevation of about 4,000 m

(13,123 ft); the southern part is somewhat lower. Rainfall, although scanty everywhere, is greater in the
northern half, where the land is covered with scrub vegetation. The southern area receives almost
no precipitation, and the landscape consists mostly of barren rocks. All of the Cordillera Occidental region
is sparsely populated, and the south is virtually uninhabited.
The Altiplano, the high plateau between the two cordilleras, comprises four major basins formed by
mountainous spurs that jut eastward from the Cordillera Occidental about halfway to the Cordillera Oriental.
Along the Altiplano's eastern side is a continuous flat area, which has served as Bolivia's principal northsouth transport corridor since colonial times. The entire Altiplano was originally a deep rift between the
cordilleras that gradually filled with highly porous sedimentarydebris washed down from the peaks. This
sedimentary origin explains its gradual slope from north to south; greater rainfall in the north has washed a
larger quantity of debris onto the platform floor.
Rainfall in the Altiplano decreases toward the south, and the scrub vegetation grows more sparse,
eventually giving way to barren rocks and dry red clay. The land contains several salt flats, the dried
remnants of ancient lakes. The largest of these - and the world's largest salt concentration - is
the Uyuni Saltpan, which covers over 9,000 square kilometers. The salt is more than five meters deep in
the centre of this flat. In the dry season, the lake bed can be traversed by heavy trucks. Near the Argentine
border, the floor of the Altiplano rises again, creating hills and volcanoes that span the gap between the
eastern and western cordilleras of the Andes.
The much older Cordillera Oriental enters Bolivia on the north side of Lake Titicaca, extends southeastward
to approximately 17 south latitude, then broadens and stretches south to the Argentine border. The
northernmost part of the Cordillera Oriental, the Cordillera Real, is an impressive snow-capped series
of granite mountains. Some of these peaks exceed 6,000 m (19,685 ft) and two - Illimani 6,424 m
(21,076 ft), which overlooks the city of La Paz, and Illampu 6,424 m (21,076 ft) - have large glaciers on
their upper slopes. South of 17 south latitude, the range changes character. Called the Cordillera
Central here, the land is actually a large block of the Earth's crust that has been lifted and tilted eastward.
The western edge of this block rises in a series of steep cliffs from the Altiplano. The backbone of the
cordillera is a high, rolling plain, with elevations from 4,200 m (13,780 ft) to 4,400 m (14,436 ft),
interspersed with irregularly spaced high peaks. Too high to be exploited for large-scale commercial
grazing, this area takes its name from the predominant vegetation type, the puna.

Valleys
The northeastern flank of the Cordillera Real is known as the Yungas, from the Aymara and Quechua and
word yunka meaning "warm valley."[1][2] The steep, almost inaccessible slopes and peaks of this mainly
semitropical valley area northeast of La Paz offer some of the most spectacular scenery in Bolivia. Rainfall
is heavy, and lush vegetation clings to the sides of narrow river valleys. The land is among the most fertile
in Bolivia, but poor transport has hindered its agricultural development. The government attempted to build
a railway through the Yungas in 1917 to connect La Paz with the eastern lowlands. The railway was
abandoned, however, after completion of only 150 kilometres.

The eastern slopes of the Cordillera Central descend gradually in a series of complex north-south ranges
and hills. Rivers, draining to the east, have cut long narrow valleys; these valleys and the basins between
the ranges are favourable areas for crops and settlement. Rich alluvial soils fill the low areas, but erosion
has followed the removal of vegetation in some places. The valley floors range from 2,000 to 3,000 metres
above sea level, and this lower elevation means milder temperatures than those of the Altiplano. Two of
Bolivia's most important cities, Sucre and Cochabamba, are located in basins in this vast region.

Lowlands

The northernmost point of Bolivia

The eastern lowlands include all of Bolivia north and east of the Andes. Although comprising over two-thirds
of the national territory, the region is sparsely populated and, until recently, has played a minor role in
the economy.
Differences in topography and climate separate the lowlands into three areas. The flat northern area, made
up of Beni and Pando Departments and the northern part of Cochabamba Department, consists
of rainforest. Because much of the topsoil is underlain byclaypan, drainage is poor, and heavy rainfall
periodically converts vast parts of the region to swamp. The central area, comprising the northern half
of Santa Cruz Department, has gently rolling hills and a drier climate than the north. Forests alternate
with savanna, and much of the land has been cleared for cultivation. Santa Cruz, the largest city in the
lowlands, is located here, as are most of Bolivia's petroleum and natural gas reserves. The southeastern
part of the lowlands is part of the Gran Chaco. Virtually rainless for nine months of the year, this area
becomes flooded for the three months of heavy rains. The extreme variation in rainfall supports only thorny
scrub vegetation and cattle grazing, although recent discoveries of natural gas and petroleum near the
foothills of the Andes have attracted some settlers to the region.
Most of Bolivia's important rivers are found in the water-rich northern parts of the lowlands, particularly in
the Alto Beni (Upper Beni), where the land is suitable for crops such ascoffee and cacao. The northern
lowlands are drained by wide, slow-moving rivers, the three largest of whichthe Mamor, Beni,
and Madre de Diosall flow northward into theMadeira River in Brazil and eventually into the River
Amazon. Riverboats along the Beni and the Mamor carry both passenger and freight traffic; rapids on the
Madeira provide river traffic farther into Brazil. Near the Paraguayan border, shallow sandy streams carry

the seasonal runoff into the Pilcomayo or Paraguay rivers. Also, the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland of
any kind, has some of its area in Bolivia.
Despite the fact that eastern Bolivia is described a lowland in when seeing the general topography of the
country there are mountains and mountain ranges well beyond the Andes. The most notable of these
mountains are the forested Serranas Chiquitanas in eastern Santa Cruz Department.

Climate
The climate of Bolivia varies drastically from one ecoregion to the other, from the tropics in the
eastern llanos to polar climates in the western Andes. The summers are warm, humid in the east and dry in
the west, with rains that often modify temperatures, humidity, winds, atmospheric pressure and
evaporation, giving place to very different climates. When the climatological phenomenon known asEl
Nio[3][4] takes place, it provokes great alterations in the weather. Winters are very cold in the west, and it
snows around the mountain ranges, while in the western regions, windy days are more usual. The autumn
is dry in the non-tropical regions.

Llanos. A humid tropical climate with an average temperature of 30C. The wind coming from
the Amazon rainforest causes significant rainfall. Starting in May, there is low precipitation because of
dry winds, and most days have clear skies. Even so, winds from the south, called surazos, can bring
cooler temperatures lasting several days.

Altiplano. Desert-Polar climates, with strong and cold winds. The average temperature ranges from
15 to 20C. At night, temperatures descend drastically to slightly above 0C, while during the day, the
weather is dry and solar radiation is high. Ground frosts occur every month, and snow is frequent.

Valleys and Yungas. Temperate climate. The humid northeastern winds are pushed to the
mountains, making this region very humid and rainy. Temperatures are cooler at higher elevations.
Snow occurs at altitudes of 2000 meters.

Chaco. Subtropical Semi-arid climate. Rain and humidity in January and the rest of the year, with
warm days and cool nights.