Salar de Uyuni, Reflection Of Mountains On Salt Plain
Bolivia (officially known as the Plurinational State of Bolivia) is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. It is bordered to the north and east by Brazil, to the southeast by Paraguay, to the south by Argentina, to the southwest by Chile, and to the northwest by Peru. One-third of the country is the Andean mountain range, with its largest city and principal economic centers located in the Altiplano. Bolivia is wealthy in minerals, especially tin. Before Spanish colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was part of the Inca Empire, while the northern and eastern lowlands were inhabited by independent tribes. Spanish conquistadors arriving from Cuzco and Asunción took control of the region in the 16th century. During most of the Spanish colonial period, Bolivia was known as Upper Peru and administered by the Royal Court of Charcas. Spain built its empire in great part upon the silver that was extracted from Bolivia's mines. After the first call for independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. The 10 million country's population is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians and Africans. The racial and social segregation that arose from Spanish colonialism has continued to the modern era. Spanish is the official and predominant language, although 36 indigenous languages also have official status, of which the most commonly spoken are Guarani, Aymara and Quechua languages.
Size: 4179px × 2775px
Location: Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Photo credit: © François-Olivier Dommergues / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: altiplano, altitude, america, americas, andean, andes, blue, bolivia, christian, culture, de, diversity, high, landlocked, mountain, poverty, reflection, remote, remoteness, salar, salt, sky, south, southamerica, uyuni, white
