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A Land at the Top of the World 13

Quick Facts: The Geography of Bolivia

Location: Central South America, bordering Argentina to the south, Brazil to the north and east, Chile to the west, Paraguay to the southeast, and Peru to the west. Area: about the size of California and Texas combined. total: 424,162 square miles (1,098,580 sq. km) land: 418,683 square miles (1,084,390 sq. km) water: 5,479 square miles (14,190 sq. km) Borders: Argentina, 517 miles (832 km); Brazil, 2,113 miles (3,400 km); Chile, 535

Climate: varies according to altitude: hot and humid in low tropical regions, cold and dry at high elevations. Dry season: May through October; rainy season: November through March. Terrain: Andes Mountains, highland plateau (Altiplano), upper and lower valleys, and lowland plains of Amazon Basin. Elevation extremes: lowest point: Río Paraguay—295 feet (90 meters). highest point: Nevado Sajama—21,463 feet (6,542 meters). Natural hazards: flooding during March and April in the northeast.

miles (861 km); Paraguay, 466 miles (750 km); Peru, 559 miles (900 km).

Source: CIA World Factbook 2015.

The Oriente From the heights of the mountains and valleys, the land drops down close to sea level, forming tropical lowlands in northern and eastern Bolivia. In the northern part of the Oriente lie the meandering rivers and tropical rain forests of the Amazon Basin, while the slightly drier region to the south contains woods and flat prairie, as well as swamps. Many tributaries of Brazil’s Madeira River, including the Beni, Guaporé, and Mamoré, flow through the thick tropical jungles and swampy marshland