The Altiplano (Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechua and Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. The plateau is located at the latitude of the widest part of the north-south-trending Andes. The bulk of the Altiplano lies in Bolivia, but its northern parts lie in Peru, and its southwestern fringes lie in Chile.
A map of the endorheic river basins that characterize the altiplano. In the north is Lake Titicaca and the Desaguadero River system; in the south is the Salar de Uyuni salt flat. The non-endorheic altiplano extends southward into Argentina and Chile.
There are on the plateau several cities in each of these three nations, including El Alto, La Paz, Oruro, and Puno. The northeastern part of the Altiplano is more humid than the southwestern part, which has several salares (salt flats), due to its aridity. At the Bolivia–Peru border lies Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America. Farther south, in Bolivia, there was until recently a lake, Lake Poopó, but by December 2015 it had completely dried up, and was declared defunct. It is unclear whether that lake, which had been the second-largest in Bolivia, can be restored.[1][2]
The Altiplano was the site of several pre-Columbian cultures, including the Chiripa, Tiawanaku and the Inca Empire. Spain conquered the region in the 16th century.
Today, major economic activities in the Altiplano include mining, llama and vicuña herding, and services (in its cities). The area also attracts some international tourism.
Several mechanisms have been put forth for the formation of the Altiplano plateau; hypotheses try to explain why the topography in the Andes incorporates this large area of low relief at high altitude (high plateau) within the orogen:
Existence of weaknesses in the Earth's crust prior to tectonic shortening. Such weaknesses would cause the partition of tectonic deformation and uplift into the eastern and western cordillera, leaving the necessary space for the formation of the altiplano basin.
Climate has controlled the spatial distribution of erosion and sediment deposition, controlling the lubrication along the subducting Nazca Plate and hence influencing the transmission of tectonic forces into South America.
Climate also determined the formation of internal drainage (endorheism) and sediment trapping within the Andes, potentially blocking tectonic deformation in the central area between the two cordilleras, and expelling deformation towards the flanks of the orogen[7]
Convective removal of the dense lower lithosphere beneath the Altiplano caused that region to isostatically 'float' higher
The Bolivian Altiplano at about 4,250 m (14,000 feet). The snow-covered peaks of the Cordillera Real rise in the background.
The term Altiplano is sometimes used to identify the altitude zone and the type of climate that prevails within it: it is colder than that of the tierra fría but not as cold as that of the tierra helada. Scientists classify the latter as commencing at an elevation of approximately 4,500 meters (or about 15,000 feet). Alternate names used in place of altiplano in this context include puna and páramos.
In general the climate is cool and humid to semi-arid and even arid, with mean annual temperatures that vary from 3 °C (37 °F) near the western mountain range to 12 °C (54 °F) near Lake Titicaca; and total annual rainfall that ranges between less than 200 mm (8 in) to the south west to more than 800 mm (31 in) near and over Lake Titicaca. The diurnal cycle of temperature is very wide, with maximum temperatures in the order of 12 to 24 °C (54 to 75 °F) and the minimum in the order of −20 to 10 °C (−4 to 50 °F).[citation needed]
The coldest temperatures occur in the southwestern portion of the Altiplano during the winter months of June and July. The seasonal cycle of rainfall is marked, with the rainy season concentrated between December and March. The rest of the year tends to be very dry, cool, windy and sunny. Snowfall may happen between April and September, especially to the north, but it is not very common (between one and five times a year).
^Mercado, David. "Lake Poopo Dries Up". Reuters. from the original on 19 December 2015.
^Paskevics, Emily (19 December 2015). "Lake Poopó, Second Largest In Bolivia, Dries Up Completely". Headlines & Global News (HNGN). from the original on 9 February 2016.
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
^González-Maurel, Osvaldo; le Roux, Petrus; Godoy, Benigno; Troll, Valentin R.; Deegan, Frances M.; Menzies, Andrew (2019-11-15). "The great escape: Petrogenesis of low-silica volcanism of Pliocene to Quaternary age associated with the Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex of northern Chile (21°10′-22°50′S)". Lithos. 346–347: 105162. doi:10.1016/j.lithos.2019.105162. ISSN 0024-4937. S2CID 201291787.
^González-Maurel, Osvaldo; Deegan, Frances M.; le Roux, Petrus; Harris, Chris; Troll, Valentin R.; Godoy, Benigno (2020-04-22). "Constraining the sub-arc, parental magma composition for the giant Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, northern Chile". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 6864. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-63454-1. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC7176692. PMID 32321945.
^Garcia-Castellanos, D., 2007. The role of climate during high plateau formation. Insights from numerical experiments. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 257, 372-390, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.02.039.
External links
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Altiplano.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Altiplano.
Photo Gallery of Altiplano in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile
altiplano, other, uses, disambiguation, spanish, high, plain, collao, quechua, aymara, qullaw, meaning, place, qulla, andean, plateau, west, central, south, america, most, extensive, high, plateau, earth, outside, tibet, plateau, located, latitude, widest, par. For other uses see Altiplano disambiguation The Altiplano Spanish for high plain Collao Quechua and Aymara Qullaw meaning place of the Qulla or Andean Plateau in west central South America is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet The plateau is located at the latitude of the widest part of the north south trending Andes The bulk of the Altiplano lies in Bolivia but its northern parts lie in Peru and its southwestern fringes lie in Chile A map of the endorheic river basins that characterize the altiplano In the north is Lake Titicaca and the Desaguadero River system in the south is the Salar de Uyuni salt flat The non endorheic altiplano extends southward into Argentina and Chile There are on the plateau several cities in each of these three nations including El Alto La Paz Oruro and Puno The northeastern part of the Altiplano is more humid than the southwestern part which has several salares salt flats due to its aridity At the Bolivia Peru border lies Lake Titicaca the largest lake in South America Farther south in Bolivia there was until recently a lake Lake Poopo but by December 2015 it had completely dried up and was declared defunct It is unclear whether that lake which had been the second largest in Bolivia can be restored 1 2 The Altiplano was the site of several pre Columbian cultures including the Chiripa Tiawanaku and the Inca Empire Spain conquered the region in the 16th century Today major economic activities in the Altiplano include mining llama and vicuna herding and services in its cities The area also attracts some international tourism Contents 1 Geography 2 Geology 3 Climate 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksGeography Edit La Paz Bolivia is the second largest city located in the Altiplano Volcanoes in Sajama National Park Parinacota and Pomerape The Altiplano is an area of inland drainage endorheism lying in the central Andes occupying parts of northern Chile western Bolivia southern Peru and northwest Argentina Its height averages about 3 750 meters 12 300 feet 3 slightly less than that of the Tibetan Plateau Unlike conditions in Tibet the Altiplano is dominated by massive active volcanoes of the Central Volcanic Zone to the west such as Ampato 6288 m Tutupaca 5 816 m Parinacota 6348 m Guallatiri 6071 m Paruma 5 728 m Uturunku 6 008 m and Licancabur 5 916 m and the Cordillera Real in the north east with Illampu 6 368 m Huayna Potosi 6 088 m Janq u Uma 6 427 m and Illimani 6 438 m 4 The Atacama Desert one of the driest areas on the planet lies to the southwest of the Altiplano to the east lies the humid Amazon rainforest The Altiplano is noted for hypoxic air caused by very high elevation The communities that inhabit the Altiplano include Qulla Uros Quechua and Aymara Geology EditSee also Altiplano Basin Geology of Bolivia and Altiplano Puna volcanic complex A rock sculpted by wind erosion or Aeolian processes in the Bolivian Altiplano Several mechanisms have been put forth for the formation of the Altiplano plateau hypotheses try to explain why the topography in the Andes incorporates this large area of low relief at high altitude high plateau within the orogen Existence of weaknesses in the Earth s crust prior to tectonic shortening Such weaknesses would cause the partition of tectonic deformation and uplift into the eastern and western cordillera leaving the necessary space for the formation of the altiplano basin Magmatic processes rooted in the asthenosphere might have contributed to uplift of the plateau 5 6 Climate has controlled the spatial distribution of erosion and sediment deposition controlling the lubrication along the subducting Nazca Plate and hence influencing the transmission of tectonic forces into South America Climate also determined the formation of internal drainage endorheism and sediment trapping within the Andes potentially blocking tectonic deformation in the central area between the two cordilleras and expelling deformation towards the flanks of the orogen 7 Convective removal of the dense lower lithosphere beneath the Altiplano caused that region to isostatically float higherAt various times during the Pleistocene epoch both the southern and northern Altiplano were covered by vast pluvial lakes Remnants are Lake Titicaca straddling the Peru Bolivia border and Poopo a salt lake that extends south of Oruro Bolivia Salar de Uyuni locally known as Salar de Tunupa and Salar de Coipasa are two large dry salt flats formed after the Altiplano paleolakes dried out Climate Edit The Bolivian Altiplano at about 4 250 m 14 000 feet The snow covered peaks of the Cordillera Real rise in the background The term Altiplano is sometimes used to identify the altitude zone and the type of climate that prevails within it it is colder than that of the tierra fria but not as cold as that of the tierra helada Scientists classify the latter as commencing at an elevation of approximately 4 500 meters or about 15 000 feet Alternate names used in place of altiplano in this context include puna and paramos In general the climate is cool and humid to semi arid and even arid with mean annual temperatures that vary from 3 C 37 F near the western mountain range to 12 C 54 F near Lake Titicaca and total annual rainfall that ranges between less than 200 mm 8 in to the south west to more than 800 mm 31 in near and over Lake Titicaca The diurnal cycle of temperature is very wide with maximum temperatures in the order of 12 to 24 C 54 to 75 F and the minimum in the order of 20 to 10 C 4 to 50 F citation needed The coldest temperatures occur in the southwestern portion of the Altiplano during the winter months of June and July The seasonal cycle of rainfall is marked with the rainy season concentrated between December and March The rest of the year tends to be very dry cool windy and sunny Snowfall may happen between April and September especially to the north but it is not very common between one and five times a year Panorama of Peruvian Altiplano See also EditLake Tauca Gran Chaco Guatemalan Highlands Mexican Plateau Puna de Atacama YungasReferences Edit Mercado David Lake Poopo Dries Up Reuters Archived from the original on 19 December 2015 Paskevics Emily 19 December 2015 Lake Poopo Second Largest In Bolivia Dries Up Completely Headlines amp Global News HNGN Archived from the original on 9 February 2016 The Use of Solar Energy for Improving the Living Conditions in Altiplano Argentina PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2011 07 19 Retrieved 2009 10 10 Andes map Gonzalez Maurel Osvaldo le Roux Petrus Godoy Benigno Troll Valentin R Deegan Frances M Menzies Andrew 2019 11 15 The great escape Petrogenesis of low silica volcanism of Pliocene to Quaternary age associated with the Altiplano Puna Volcanic Complex of northern Chile 21 10 22 50 S Lithos 346 347 105162 doi 10 1016 j lithos 2019 105162 ISSN 0024 4937 S2CID 201291787 Gonzalez Maurel Osvaldo Deegan Frances M le Roux Petrus Harris Chris Troll Valentin R Godoy Benigno 2020 04 22 Constraining the sub arc parental magma composition for the giant Altiplano Puna Volcanic Complex northern Chile Scientific Reports 10 1 6864 doi 10 1038 s41598 020 63454 1 ISSN 2045 2322 PMC 7176692 PMID 32321945 Garcia Castellanos D 2007 The role of climate during high plateau formation Insights from numerical experiments Earth Planet Sci Lett 257 372 390 doi 10 1016 j epsl 2007 02 039 External links Edit Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Altiplano Wikimedia Commons has media related to Altiplano Photo Gallery of Altiplano in Argentina Bolivia and Chile Photo Gallery Argentinian Puna Water resources of Chilean Altiplano Steinmetz George July 2008 Altiplano Where Bolivia meets the sky National Geographic Magazine Coordinates 16 00 13 S 69 39 12 W 16 00358 S 69 65332 W 16 00358 69 65332 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Altiplano amp oldid 1125079458, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
