75 images Created 30 Mar 2013
Bolivia's Altiplano
Bolivia is one of the two landlocked countries and the fifth largest country in South America. One third of the country is within the Andean mountain range and averages around 10,000 feet in altitude. Bolivia is dominated by two Andean parallel mountain ranges: The Cordillera Occidental to the east, the Cordillera Oriental to the west. The Cordillera Real is to the north. Between these parallel ranges lies the Altiplano (High Plateau), which extends from southern Peru through Bolivia to northern Argentina. The plateau is a relatively flat-floored depression about 500 miles long and maintains an elevation between 12,000 - 12,500 feet (3,650 -3,800 meters). To the north of the Cordillera Real is the Apolobambe range - a protected area where vicuñas, alpacas and llamas thrive. In the southwest, Bolivia has the world's largest salt flat, at 4,086 sq.miles or 10,582 sq. kilometers at an elevation of 11,995 ft/3,656 meters above sea level. This amazing salt desert is called Salar de Uyuni.
