Geography of Bolivia

Location

\nCentral South America, southwest of Brazil\n

Geographic coordinates:\n17 00 S, 65 00 W\n

Map references:\nSouth America\n

Area:\n
total:\n1,098,580 km²\n
land:\n1,084,390 km²\n
water:\n14,190 km²\n

Area - comparative:\nslightly less than three times the size of Montana\n

Land boundaries:\n
total:\n6,743 km\n
border countries:\nArgentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km\n

Coastline:\n0 km (landlocked)\n

Maritime claims:\nnone (landlocked)\n

Climate:\nvaries with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid\n

Terrain:\nrugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin\n

Elevation extremes:\n
lowest point:\nRio Paraguay 90 m\n
highest point:\nNevado Sajama 6,542 m\n

Natural resources:\ntin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower\n

Land use:\n
arable land:\n2%\n
permanent crops:\n0%\n
permanent pastures:\n24%\n
forests and woodland:\n53%\n
other:\n21% (1993 est.)\n

Irrigated land:\n1,750 km² (1993 est.)\n

Natural hazards:\ncold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to efficient fuel combustion, as well as to physical activity by those unaccustomed to it from birth; flooding in the northeast (March-April)\n

Environment - current issues:\nthe clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation\n

Environment - international agreements:\n
party to:\nBiodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands\n
signed, but not ratified:\nEnvironmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection\n

Geography - note:\nlandlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru

Reference

\nMuch of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website. Bolivia