Cultural Analysis Of Bolivia

In the north, there are some high valleys with altitudes of up to 14,000 feet, which inhabited by a small number of Indians. With peaks of more than 20,000 feet, steep slopes, and much volcanic activity, the Cordillera Occidental is the least inhabited part of the Bolivian Highlands. .
             The Altiplano is a high plateau, 12,000-13,000 feet above sea level, which lies between the Occidental and Oriental ranges. The Altiplano is divided into a number of basins. The northernmost of these basins, which extends into Peru, is partly occupied by Lake Titicaca, at 12,507 feet, the world's highest navigable lake. The Capital La Paz, is the highest (11,900 feet) heavy populated city in the world, it is situated in a valley southeast of Lake Titicaca below the rim of the Altiplano. .
             The structure of the Cordillera Oriental is more varied and complex, with distinctly different landscapes and habitats in the northeast. The eastern slopes are densely covered by forest and are known as the Yungas, the wettest part of the Bolivian Andes. The southern part rises abruptly from the Altiplano; also known as the Puna, this moderately high surface contains 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. .
             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 forests along the rivers. The eastern lowlands are sparsely populated.