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Bolivia vs. Peru

Geography

BoliviaPeru
LocationCentral South America, southwest of BrazilWestern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador
Geographic coordinates17 00 S, 65 00 W10 00 S, 76 00 W
Map referencesSouth AmericaSouth America
Areatotal: 1,098,581 sq km

land: 1,083,301 sq km

water: 15,280 sq km
total: 1,285,216 sq km

land: 1,279,996 sq km

water: 5,220 sq km
Area - comparativeslightly less than three times the size of Montanaalmost twice the size of Texas; slightly smaller than Alaska
Land boundariestotal: 7,252 km

border countries (5): Argentina 942 km, Brazil 3403 km, Chile 942 km, Paraguay 753 km, Peru 1212 km
total: 7,062 km

border countries (5): Bolivia 1212 km, Brazil 2659 km, Chile 168 km, Colombia 1494 km, Ecuador 1529 km
Coastline0 km (landlocked)2,414 km
Maritime claimsnone (landlocked)territorial sea: 200 nm; note: the US does not recognize this claim

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm
Climatevaries with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiaridvaries from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
Terrainrugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basinwestern coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)
Elevation extremeshighest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m

lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m

mean elevation: 1,192 m
highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,746 m

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 1,555 m
Natural resourcestin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropowercopper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas
Land useagricultural land: 34.3% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.6% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 30.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 52.5% (2018 est.)

other: 13.2% (2018 est.)
agricultural land: 18.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 14.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 53% (2018 est.)

other: 28.2% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land3,000 sq km (2012)25,800 sq km (2012)
Natural hazards

flooding in the northeast (March to April)

volcanism: volcanic activity in Andes Mountains on the border with Chile; historically active volcanoes in this region are Irruputuncu (5,163 m), which last erupted in 1995, and the Olca-Paruma volcanic complex (5,762 m to 5,167 m)

earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity

volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains; Ubinas (5,672 m), which last erupted in 2009, is the country's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes include El Misti, Huaynaputina, Sabancaya, and Yucamane; see note 2 under "Geography - note"

Environment - current issuesthe 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 irrigationdeforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes; overfishing
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands,

signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - notenote 1: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru

note 2: the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato, while southeast Bolivia and northwest Argentina seem to be the original development site for peanuts

note 1: shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River

note 2: Peru is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire

note 3: on 19 February 1600, Mount Huaynaputina in the southern Peruvian Andes erupted in the largest volcanic explosion in South America in historical times; intermittent eruptions lasted until 5 March 1600 and pumped an estimated 16 to 32 million metric tons of particulates into the atmosphere reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the earth's surface and affecting weather worldwide; over the next two and a half years, millions died around the globe in famines from bitterly cold winters, cool summers, and the loss of crops and animals

note 4: the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato

Total renewable water resources574 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)1,879,800,000,000 cubic meters (2017 est.)
Population distributiona high altitude plain in the west between two cordillera of the Andes, known as the Altiplano, is the focal area for most of the population; a dense settlement pattern is also found in and around the city of Santa Cruz, located on the eastern side of the Andesapproximately one-third of the population resides along the desert coastal belt in the west, with a strong focus on the capital city of Lima; the Andean highlands, or sierra, which is strongly identified with the country's Amerindian population, contains roughly half of the overall population; the eastern slopes of the Andes, and adjoining rainforest, are sparsely populated

Source: CIA Factbook