9781422286388

(Opposite) A woman peers inside a thatched hut on the Altiplano, or high plains. This immense plateau extends across southwestern Bolivia and southern Peru at a height of about 11,975 feet (3,650 meters). (Right) Sunset over Titicaca, the second- largest lake in South America, as seen from the Island of the Sun. 1

A Land at the Top of the World

¡HOLA! ARE YOU discovering Bolivia? It’s the highest of the South American republics and—with the largest percentage of Native Americans— a land of ancient and colorful traditions. In Bolivia, snowy mountain peaks and dry, elevated plateaus contrast with tropical lowland plains and humid Amazon jungles. Boats ply the waters of lazy, meandering rivers and the world’s highest navigable lake, but never dock at a Bolivian ocean port. A Landlocked Country Pacific waves once lapped against the shores of Bolivia, but now the country is one of two landlocked nations in South America (the other is Paraguay). The fifth-largest nation on the continent, triangular-shaped Bolivia extends over an area of approximately 425,000 square miles (1.1 million square

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