La Paz (city)

La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia (the legal capital of the country is Sucre). The full name of the city is La Paz de Ayacucho. It was named after the victory over Spain at Ayacucho (Peru) in the battle for South American independence.

La Paz was founded at the site of an Inca village by Alonso de Mendoza in 1548.

The city is situated in a chasm below a plateau at an altitude of 3600m alongside the La Paz river. On the plateau is the city of El Alto; the international airport is also located there.

La Paz has between 700,000 and 800,000 inhabitants.

In 1912, after a short revolt, it was made the administrative capital of Bolivia, since it was the only large city in Bolvia not influenced by the economic decline of Potosi

External Links

• Municipal Government of La Paz: http://www.ci-lapaz.gov.bo/

The department of La Paz comprises 133.985 kmē with approx. 2.2 million inhabitants. It is situated at the western border of Bolivia, sharing Lake Titicaca with Peru. It contains the mighty Cordillera Real that reaches altitudes of 6600 meters. North of the Cordillera Real are the Yungas, the steep eastern slopes of the Andes that make the transition to the Amazon basin.