| Cordillera de los Frailes | |
|---|---|
 River valley in the Cordillera de los Frailes | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Nuevo Mundo |
| Elevation | 5,438 m (17,841 ft) |
| Coordinates | 19°35′S66°25′W / 19.583°S 66.417°W |
| Geography | |
| Country | Bolivia |
| Parent range | Andes |
The Cordillera de los Frailes is a mountainous region in the central parts of the Bolivian Andes.
The Cordillera de los Frailes stretches along the north-eastern parts of Potosí Department bordering the north-western Chuquisaca Department. It consists of mainly two parts: the western region is a volcanic field of subhorizontal, undeformed ignimbrites dating back to upper Miocene, about 5 to 23 million years from today; the eastern part, the so-called Maragua Syncline which is much older, is a mountain range of sedimentary rock of Cretaceous-Paleocene origin in a north–south thrust.
The Cordillera de los Frailes borders Poopó Lake in the northwest and stretches between a line Challapata-Macha-Ravelo in the north and Río Mulato-Potosí-Betanzos in the south.
The Cordillera de los Frailes contains fewer high elevations than the Cordillera de Lípez in the south or the Azanaques range in the north. The highest mountains in the area are the Jatun Mundo Quri Warani (Nuevo Mundo) (5,438 m) and Jatun Wila Qullu (5,214 m) in the southwestern parts of the region.
Because of the landlocked location, the Cordillera de los Frailes gives rise to only a few rivers of supraregional importance. The main river of the region is the Pillkumayu which crosses the area from northwest to southeast.
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is 8,900 km (5,530 mi) long, 200 to 700 km wide, and has an average height of about 4,000 m (13,123 ft). The Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
The geography of Bolivia includes the Eastern Andes Mountain Range which bisects Bolivia roughly from north to south. To the east of that mountain chain are lowland plains of the Amazon Basin, and to the west is the Altiplano which is a highland plateau where Lake Titicaca is located. Bolivia's geography has features similar to those of Peru which abuts Bolivia's northwest border; like Bolivia, Peru is bisected from north to south by the Eastern Andes Mountains, and these two countries share Lake Titicaca which is the highest navigable lake on Earth. Unlike Peru, however, Bolivia is one of the two landlocked countries in South America, the other being Paraguay which is located along Bolivia's southeast border.
The Altiplano, Collao 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.
Los Andes is one of the twenty provinces in the central parts of the Bolivian La Paz Department. The province was legally founded on November 24, 1917, during the presidency of José Gutiérrez Guerra. The Spanish name of the province means "The Andes", referring to its position within the Cordillera Real which is part of the Bolivian Andes mountain range. The capital of the province is Pucarani, which has a population of 918 as of the 2001 census. Pucarani is situated in the Altiplano west of the Cordillera Real offering a view of some of its highest mountains such as Ch'iyar Juqhu, Chachakumani, Kunturiri, Wayna Potosí and Chacaltaya.
Tomás Frías is a province in the northern parts of the Bolivian Potosí Department. Its capital is Potosí which is also the capital of the department. The province is named after the former president Tomás Frías Ametller.
José María Linares is a province in the eastern parts of the Bolivian department of Potosí. Its capital is Puna.
Nuevo Mundo also known as Jatun Mundo Quri Warani, is a stratovolcano, lava dome and a lava flow complex between Potosí and Uyuni, Bolivia, in the Andes rising to a peak at 5,438 m (17,841 ft). It is located in the Potosí Department, Antonio Quijarro Province, Tomave Municipality. It lies northeast of the peaks of Uyuni, Kuntur Chukuña and Chuqi Warani and south of Sirk'i.
Chayanta is a province in the northern parts of the Bolivian Potosí Department. Its capital is Colquechaca.
El Sira Communal Reserve is a protected area in Peru created to preserve the biodiversity of the Sira Mountains and the ancestral sustainable use of the area's resources by the nearby native peoples. It also protects the headwaters of the Pachitea river basin. The reserve covers an area of 616,413 hectares (6,164.13 km2) within the regions of Huánuco, Pasco and Ucayali. The reserve was created in 2001 and in 2010, UNESCO recognized it as part of the Oxapampa-Asháninka-Yánesha Biosphere Reserve.
The geology of Bolivia comprises a variety of different lithologies as well as tectonic and sedimentary environments. On a synoptic scale, geological units coincide with topographical units. The country is divided into a mountainous western area affected by the subduction processes in the Pacific and an eastern lowlands of stable platforms and shields. The Bolivian Andes is divided into three main ranges; these are from west to east: the Cordillera Occidental that makes up the border to Chile and host several active volcanoes and geothermal areas, Cordillera Central once extensively mined for silver and tin and the relatively low Cordillera Oriental that rather than being a range by its own is the eastern continuation of the Central Cordillera as a fold and thrust belt. Between the Occidental and Central Cordillera the approximately 3,750-meter-high Altiplano high plateau extends. This basin hosts several freshwater lakes, including Lake Titicaca as well as salt-covered dry lakes that bring testimony of past climate changes and lake cycles. The eastern lowlands and sub-Andean zone in Santa Cruz, Chuquisaca, and Tarija Departments was once an old Paleozoic sedimentary basin that hosts valuable hydrocarbon reserves. Further east close to the border with Brazil lies the Guaporé Shield, made up of stable Precambrian crystalline rock.
The Potosí mountain range in Bolivia is situated east and southeast of the city of Potosí. It is at least 25 km long stretching from north to south. Its highest mountain is Khunurana (Anaruyu) rising up to 5,071 m (16,637 ft). The features of the range are considered the product of volcanic activity known as the Khari Khari caldera. The caldera is about 40 km long and 25 km at its widest point.
Mawk'a Tampu is a mountain in the Andes of Bolivia. It lies in the Potosí Department at the border of the provinces Tomás Frías and Cornelio Saavedra. Its summit reaches a height of about 4,940 metres (16,207 ft) above sea level. Mawk'a Tampu is situated in the Khari Khari mountain range east of Potosí. It lies east of the Khari Khari and the Kimsa Kunturiri group and southeast of the Jatun Tiyu Lakes.
Kimsa Kunturiri is a group of three mountains in the Andes of Bolivia in the Potosí Department at the border of Tomás Frías Province and Cornelio Saavedra Province. The peaks are about 5,020 m, 4,980 m and 4,960 m high. The Kimsa Kunturiri group is situated in the Khari Khari mountain range east of Potosí. It lies north of the Kimsa Waylla group, between the lakes Jatun Wak'ani (Jatun Huacani) and Juch'uy Wak'ani (Juchuy Huacani) in the west and the Jatun Tiyu Lakes in the east.
Khunurana is a mountain in the Andes of Bolivia located about 20 km south of Potosí in the Potosí Department in the north of the José María Linares Province. It is the highest peak in the Potosí mountain range rising to 5,071 m (16,637 ft).
Yana Urqu is a mountain in the Anta Q'awa mountain range of the Bolivian Andes, about 4,860 m (15,945 ft) high. It is situated south-east of Potosí in the Potosí Department, in the north of the José María Linares Province. Yana Urqu lies south-east and east of the mountains Q'umir Qucha and Khunurana.
Jatun Q'asa is a mountain in the Khari Khari mountain range of the Bolivian Andes, about 5,023 m high. It is located in the Potosí Department, Tomás Frías Province, Potosí Municipality. It lies north of the plain called Jatun Molino Pampa and the Sip'uruni River. Jatun Q'asa lies near Q'illu Q'asa, Q'illu Urqu and Yuraq Yuraq.
Jatun Kunturiri is a mountain in the Potosí mountain range of the Bolivian Andes, about 5,008 m (16,430 ft) high. It is situated south-east of Potosí in the Potosí Department, José María Linares Province, in the south-west of the Puna Municipality. It lies between the Sip'uruni River in the north and the Khunurana in the south, north-west of the lake T'ala Qucha and the village Talaco.
Jach'a Q'awa is a 4,718-metre-high (15,479 ft) mountain in the Cordillera de los Frailes in the Andes of Bolivia. It is situated in the Potosí Department, Tomás Frías Province, Tinguipaya Municipality, north of the Pillku Mayu. It lies southeast of the village of Janq'u Laqaya (Jankho Lacaya) and the mountain named Janq'u Laqaya (Jhanco Lacaya) and northwest of Pari Chata.
Los Frailes is an ignimbrite plateau in Bolivia, between the city of Potosi and the Lake Poopo. It belongs to a group of ignimbrites that exist in the Central Andes and which includes the Altiplano–Puna volcanic complex. The plateau covers a surface of 7,500 square kilometres (2,900 sq mi)–8,500 square kilometres (3,300 sq mi) with about 2,000 cubic kilometres (480 cu mi) of ignimbrite.
