Bolivia - Geography

Geography

Bolivia is located in the central zone of South America, between the meridians 57° 26´ and 69° 38´ longitude west of the Prime Meridian, and the parallels 9° 38´ and 22° 53´ of southern latitude. At 1,098,580 square kilometres (424,160 sq mi), Bolivia is the world's 28th-largest country. Its surface extends from the Central Andes, going partially through the Gran Chaco, as far as the Amazon. The geographic center of the country is the so-called Puerto Estrella ("Star Port") on the Río Grande, in Ñuflo de Chávez Province, Santa Cruz Department.

The geographic location of the country comprises a great variety of terrains and climates. Bolivia has a huge degree of biodiversity, considered one of the greatest in the world; as well as several ecoregions with such ecological subunits as the Altiplano, tropical rainforests (including Amazon rainforest), dry valleys, and the Chiquitania, which is a tropical savanna. All of these feature enormous variations in altitude, from an elevation of 6,542 meters above sea level in Nevado Sajama, to nearly 70 meters along the Paraguay River. Despite this great geographic contrast, Bolivia has remained a landlocked country since the War of the Pacific.