Geography of Bolivia
Location: | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
Geographic coordinates: | 17 00 S, 65 00 W |
Map references: | South America |
Area: | total: 1,098,580 sq km land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
Area - comparative: | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Land boundaries: | total: 6,940 km border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,423 km, Chile 860 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 1,075 km |
Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked) |
Maritime claims: | none (landlocked) |
Climate: | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Terrain: | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
Natural resources: | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Land use: | arable land: 2.78% permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.03% (2005) |
Irrigated land: | 1,320 sq km (2003) |
Natural hazards: | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
Environment - current issues: | the 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 |
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection |
Geography - note: | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |