In Bolivia the peaks of the Andes are covered by glaciers and steep mountain sides fall into immense depths, the Amazon tributaries cut into the rugged slopes labyrinths of deep abysses. In Bolivia the Andes reach its largest width, up to 650 km (400 mi). The width is here at its maximum because the mountain system consists of two mountain chains, Eastern and Western Cordillera, which are divided by dry windswept mountain plateau, called Altiplano, whose average altitude is about 4000 m ( 13100 f).
In the west rise the peaks of Western Cordillera, the summits, among which there are several active volcanos, reach the height of 5800 to 6500m (19000 - 21300 f) here. You will also find the highest Bolivian mountain here, Sajama volcano (6520 m – 21391 f). The Western Cordillera here forms a natural border with Chile, in the west it falls to the Atacama desert and eventually to the Pacific Ocean. Easterly from Altiplano rise the glacier covered peaks of Eastern Cordillera, which in the region of Lake Titicaca reach over 6000 m (19700 f). Further to the east, in the north these then fall sharply to the rainforests and jungles of Amazon and in the south to the drier savannah and pampas which are covered with xerophytic bushes and cactus evoking Arizona landscape.
Andes with its mountain plateaus, mountain lakes, high altitude forests, deep valleys with cloud forests, together with huge climatic range from real tropics, and tundra to the driest deserts, offer the widest possible range of conditions to living organisms then any other mountain range in the world. Other reason for this astonishing diversity is the extraordinary compaction of biogeographical zones. Majority of mountain ranges form zones of different climates, soil, and vegetation from the foothills to the summits. However in the Andes, which rise steeply into high altitudes and have extreme differences in climates, these biogeographical zones are compressed tightly one over other in relatively small areas. This leads to large diversity in the same relatively small areas.
This mountainous zone is a home to animals similar to mice with beautiful soft fur, to members of the cameloid family – Llamas, Huanacos, Quanacos. We will find here foxes, viscachas and wild guinea-pigs. There are flightless nandus reminiscent of Australian emus. The skies are dominated by condors, and in the vicinity of the salt lakes there are flamingos, and the main predators here are the pumas. There is also a large number of plant life, some original to the area, other brought here by animals or birds.
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