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A Land at the Top of the World 11

(high plain), an immense plateau that runs through the country from the north Peruvian border south- ward to the Argentine boundary. Two parallel mountain ranges, or cordilleras , of the Andes border the Altiplano: the Cordillera Occidental to the west and the Cordillera Oriental to the east. The Cordillera Oriental contains some of the highest peaks of the central Andes, including Mount Illimani (21,201 feet, or 6,462 meters).

The Cordillera Oriental range contains some of the highest mountains in Bolivia.

Illimani towers over the Altiplano city of La Paz, Bolivia’s administrative capital. The country’s tallest peak, Nevado Sajama, reaches 21,463 feet (6,542 meters) above sea level near the Chilean border. Visitors to Bolivia’s highlands often find themselves breathless, and not just from views of majestic mountains. Because of reduced amounts of oxy- gen in the thin air of the plateau—which averages 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) above sea level—new arrivals have trouble breathing and can suffer altitude sickness. The high plateau itself is a dry, even arid place with few trees. At its northern edge Bolivia’s largest lake (and South America’s second largest) borders Peru. Jointly controlled by the two nations, Lake Titicaca is—at 12,500 feet (3,813 meters)—the world’s highest navigable lake. Titicaca mea-