La Paz

Nuestra Señora de La Paz (English: Our Lady of Peace), commonly known as La Paz, named Chuqi Yapu (Chuquiago) in Aymara, is Bolivia's third-most populous city (after Santa Cruz and El Alto), the seat of the country's government, and the capital of La Paz Department. It is located on the western side of Bolivia at an elevation of roughly 11,975 feet (3,650 meters) above sea level.

It is, de facto, the world's highest administrative capital. While the official capital of Bolivia (and its seat of justice) is Sucre, La Paz has more government departments.

In May 2015, La Paz was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, Durban, Havana, Beirut, and Kuala Lumpur.

The city sits in a bowl surrounded by the high mountains of the altiplano. As it grew, the city of La Paz climbed the hills, resulting in varying elevations from (10,500-13,500 feet (3,200-4,115 meters). Overlooking the city is towering triple-peaked Illimani, which is always snow-covered and can be seen from many parts of the city, including from the neighboring city of El Alto. As of the 2008 census, the city had a population of 877,363.

La Paz Metropolitan area, formed by the cities of La Paz, El Alto, and Viacha, make the most populous urban area of Bolivia, with a population of 2.3 million inhabitants and surpassing the metropolitan area of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

Geography[]

Located at 16°30′0″S 68°08′0″W (−16.5, −68.1333), La Paz is built in a canyon created by the Choqueyapu River (now mostly built over), which runs northwest to southeast. The city's main thoroughfare, which roughly follows the river, changes names over its length, but the central tree-lined section running through the downtown core is called the Prado.

The geography of La Paz (in particular the altitude) reflects society: the lower areas of the city are more affluent. While many middle-class residents live in high-rise condos near the center, the houses of the truly affluent are located in the lower neighborhoods southwest of the Prado. And looking up from the center, the surrounding hills are plastered with makeshift brick houses of those less economically fortunate.

The satellite city of El Alto, in which the airport is located, is spread over a broad area to the west of the canyon, on the Altiplano. La Paz is renowned for its unique markets, very unusual topography, and traditional culture.

La Paz is located in the valleys of the Andes, and is closer to the Eastern split of the Altiplano region. Therefore, it is closer to the famous mountains such as the Illimani (guardian of La Paz), Huayna Potosi, Mururata, and Illampu. On the Western side of the Altiplano divide, about an hour to the West of the La Paz, is the site of the tallest mountain in Bolivia and 9th tallest mountain in the Andes, the Sajama Volcano. In July 1994, an earthquake rated at 8.2 struck just 200 miles (321.87 kilometers) north of La Paz.

Climate[]

At more than 13,000 feet (3,962 meters) above sea level, higher parts of La Paz have an unusual subtropical highland climate (Cwc, according to the Köppen climate classification), with subpolar oceanic characteristics (less than 4 months have a mean temperature above 10 °C). The whole city has rainy summers and dry winters. Night-time temperatures range from cold to very cold. Snow flurries can occur in winter, especially at dawn and it usually melts before noon. At these high altitudes despite being located only 16 degrees from the equator, the city's average temperature is similar to that of cities such as Bergen, Norway or Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, located as far as 60 and 62 degrees from the equator respectively.

The temperatures in the central La Paz, at 11,811 feet (3,600 metrs), and in the Zona Sur (Southern Zone), at 10,663 feet (3,250 meters) above sea level, are warmer (subtropical highland climate Cwb, according to the Köppen classification).

Owing to the altitude of the city, temperatures are consistently cool to mild throughout the year, though the diurnal temperature variation is typically large. The city has a relatively dry climate, with rainfall occurring mainly in the slightly warmer months of November to March.

At 4,012 meters, February and March, the two cloudiest months of the year, both in late summer, receive a low daily average of around 5 hours of sunshine. Conversely, June and July, the two sunniest months of the year, both in winter, receive an abundant daily average of around 8 hours of sunshine.

The seasonally uneven distribution of the year's annual precipitation often results in destructive mudslides experienced in summer, due to the excessive amount of precipitation typically observed throughout the season. At 3,250 meters, the wettest month is January with a monthly average of 114 mm (4.5 in) and the driest is July with 8 mm (0.3 in).

The warmest temperature recorded was 27.0 °C (80.6 °F) and the coldest was −12.5 °C (9.5 °F).

La Paz

Geography[]

Climate[]

Sister/Twin Cities[]

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