The Altiplano is a large plateau within the Andes Mountains of South America. Its identify is Spanish for excessive aircraft. The Altiplano covers southeastern Peru, western Bolivia, northeastern Chile, and northwestern Argentina. The Altiplano is among the highest and largest plateaus on the planet. Its elevation ranges from about eleven,000 to thirteen,000 ft (three,300 to four,000 meters). It covers about sixty five,000 sq. miles (one hundred seventy,000 sq. kilometers).
Snowcapped mountains and volcanoes encompass the Altiplano. Rain that falls on a few of the mountains drains into the Altiplano to create two giant lakes—Titicaca and Poopó. The Altiplano is chilly and windy. Within the south, the local weather is semiarid (barely much less dry than a desert).Some areas are rocky with little vegetation.
The northern a part of the Altiplano, close to Lake Titicaca, has all the time had a bigger inhabitants than the southern half. Giant indigenous (native) civilizations have flourished round Lake Titicaca. For instance, the Tiwanaku (additionally spelled Tiahuanaco) tradition had reached its peak on this area by A.D. 800. The northern Altiplano made up a part of the Inca empire till Spaniards conquered the area within the 1530’s.
At this time, peoples of the Altiplano converse such native languages as Quechua or Aymara along with Spanish. Many work as farmers. They develop barley and potatoes through the wet season, which lasts from December to March. Additionally they increase cattle and sheep. La Paz, certainly one of Bolivia’s largest cities, stands on the northeastern fringe of the Altiplano.