Physical Characteristics
The topography of Bolivia in general is similar to that of Peru save for the absence of a coast section. The Sierra or plateau region and the Trans-Andine continue those at the north, though the latter differs from the Peruvian in that its rivers reach the Atlantic Ocean, some by way of the Amazon, others by the Paraná and La Plata, while the montaña of Peru is wholly in the Amazon Basin.
The Plateau Region of Bolivia, 90 miles from the Pacific, extends from northwest to southeast about 460 miles, with an average width of 100 miles and an altitude of 12,500 feet. It is bordered on the west by the Cordillera Occidental, containing snowclad peaks, several of which are volcanoes, many dormant or extinct, and on the east by the Cordillera Oriental, the northern part of which is the Real or Royal, a name eminently deserved. The two ranges come together at the Knot of Cuzco or Vilcanota. Northeast of Lake Titicaca is another confused mass or knot, the Nudo of Apolobamba, where are said to be some of the highest peaks of the Andes. The central plateau, once an inland sea, and now including Lake Titicaca, slopes slightly from the north, where it has a height above 13,000 feet. It is broken in places by ridges and peaks, one over 17,000 feet high, and is cut by a few cañons. In the West Cordillera a number of peaks reach an elevation of 19,000, 20,000, or 21,000 feet; on the east the Cordillera Real contains several above 21,000. Farther south in the lower ranges are some peaks of volcanic character. A transverse ridge, the Serranía de Lipez, terminates the Bolivian Plateau.
East of the southern part of the Cordillera Oriental is a mountainous section of which the Sierra de Cochabamba on the northeast and the Sierra de Misiones on the east form the limit. Considerably farther east in the region of the lowlands is the Sierra de Chiquitos between the Mamoré and Guaporé Rivers, mere hills in comparison, with one almost attaining 4000 feet. The highland or plateau section, the only part visited by ordinary tourists or commercial men, occupies hardly two fifths of the territory, the less known lowlands three fifths.
The Lowlands, extending farther north than the Bolivian plateau, comprise low alluvial plains, swamps, and lands often flooded, including great forests and llanos. The great forests are at the north in the Amazon Basin, the open plains in that of the Plata.
Rivers. The only rivers of consequence are those which flow towards the Atlantic, with the exception of the Desaguadero, about 200 miles long, the outlet of Lake Titicaca. This river flows into Lake Pampa Aullagas or Poopo, which has no outlet unless it be by an underground stream to the Pacific, of which there are some indications. The principal rivers of the Plata system, the Pilcomayo and the Bermejo, flow southeast into the Paraguay River. More numerous and important are the streams flowing northeast belonging to the Amazon Basin, the chief of these, the Beni, and the Mamoré, which form the Madera River. They have many tributaries, the Beni having the Madre de Dios, the Madidi, the Cochabamba, and others; the Mamoré receiving the great boundary river, the Guaporé or Itenez, and many more.