Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Republic of Bolivia (Spanish: República de Bolivia, Quechua: Bulibya, Aymara: Wuliwya), named after Simón Bolívar, is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil on the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina on the south, and Chile and Peru on the west.
Bolivian culture has been heavily influenced by the Quechua, the Aymara, as well as by the popular cultures of Latin America as a whole.
The best known of the various festivals found in the country is the "Carnaval de Oruro", which was among the first 19 "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity," as proclaimed by the UNESCO in May of 2001.
Entertainment includes football (soccer), which is the national sport, as well as table football, which is played on street-corners by both children and adults.
Zoos are a popular attraction, with a diverse population of interesting creatures, but with lack of proper funding.
Geography
Lower central La Paz, Bolivia
viewed from Laikacota Park
At 424,135 mi² (1,098,580 km²), Bolivia is the world's 28th-largest country (after Ethiopia). It is comparable in size to Mauritania, and has 1.5 times the area of the US state of Texas.
Bolivia has been a landlocked nation since 1879 when it lost its coastal department of Litoral to Chile in the War of the Pacific. However, it does have access to the Atlantic via the Paraguay river.
An enormous diversity of ecological zones are represented within Bolivia's territory. The western highlands of the country are situated in the Andes mountains and include the Bolivian Altiplano. The eastern lowlands include large sections of Amazonian rainforests and Chaco. The highest peak is Nevado Sajama at 6,542 metres (21,463 ft) located in the department of Oruro. Lake Titicaca is located on the border between Bolivia and Peru. The Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, lies in the southwest corner of the country, in the department of Potosí.
Major cities are La Paz, El Alto, Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba.
Most Bolivians do not own automobiles, so public transportation in Bolivia is extremely important. This is often arranged by private workers who own vans or taxis.