El Alto (Spanish for "The Heights") is the second-largest city in Bolivia, located adjacent to La Paz in Pedro Domingo Murillo Province on the

Altiplano 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 ...

highlands. El Alto is today one of Bolivia's fastest-growing urban centers, with an estimated population of 943,558 in 2020. It is also the highest major city in the world, with an average elevation of . The El Alto–La Paz metropolitan area, formed by La Paz, El Alto, Achocalla, Viacha, and Mecapaca, constitutes the most populous urban area of Bolivia, with a population of about 2.2 million.

History

The dry and inclement plain above La Paz was uninhabited until 1903 when the newly built railways from

Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, i ...

and

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capita ...

reached the rim of the canyon, where the La Paz terminus, railyards and depots were built along with a settlement of railway workers (a spur line down into the canyon opened in 1905). In 1925, the airfield was built as a base for the new air force, which attracted additional settlement. In 1939, El Alto's first elementary school opened. El Alto started to grow tremendously in the 1950s when the settlement was connected to La Paz's water supply (before this, all water had to be transported from La Paz in tanker vehicles) and building land in the canyon became more and more scarce and expensive. In an administrative reform in March 1985, the district of El Alto and its surroundings were politically separated from the City of La Paz (this date is officially referred to and celebrated as the city's "founding day"). In 1987, El Alto was formally incorporated as a city. In 1994, the city became the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of El Alto The Roman Catholic Diocese of El Alto ( la, Dioecesis Altanus) is a diocese located in the city of El Alto in the Ecclesiastical province of La Paz in Bolivia. History * 25 June 1994: Established as Diocese of El Alto from the Metropolitan Archdi ...

Districts

El Alto's autonomous government identifies 14 districts composing the city.

Demographics

El Alto is the largest city in Latin America with a mostly

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

population. About 76% of its inhabitants are

Aymara Aymara may refer to: Languages and people * Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language ** Aymara language, the main language within that family ** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...

, 9% are

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

, 15% are Mestizo (descendants of Indigenous and Europeans), and less than 0.1% are Criollos (White). El Alto was once known as La Paz's bedroom community, though recent growth of commerce and industry has led some local authorities to claim the title of "Bolivia's Economic Capital." With this industrial growth, there is concern about water pollution by businesses, including tanneries and slaughterhouses, for the city and communities downstream. Rapid population growth means the city struggles to bring potable water and sewer service to parts of the population, especially on the fringes of the expanding urban area. Much of the city's roads are unpaved and most citizens do not have access to running water, sewerage, electricity, or garbage collection for their homes.

Geography

The city contains La Paz’s El Alto International Airport. El Alto is one of the highest major cities in the world, up to 4,150 meters (13,615 feet) above mean sea level. It has a cold climate, with the highest average monthly maximum temperature being in November. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Bolivia, due to immigration from Bolivia’s rural areas to the La Paz region which started with the rural reform of 1952 and increased in the last 10 years. Some migrants say the difficulty of growing crops in the countryside drove them to move to the city.

Climate

The Köppen climate classification system classifies El Alto's climate as a rare cold-summer variety of a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cwc''). Temperatures are typically cool during the day and crisp at night year-round. Snowfall is possible at any time during the year. The

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

in El Alto has been impacted by drought caused by shrinking glaciers. In 2016 the three main dams supplying water to the city were almost dry due to lack of glacial melt water.

Attractions

Museo de Arte Antonio Paredes Candia The Museo de Arte Antonio Paredes Candia is an art museum in El Alto, Bolivia. Inaugurated in 2002, as of 2011 the museum contains 503 works of art and 11,931 books. It includes works by Pérez Alcalá, Darío Antezana, Gil Imana, Alfredo Laplaca ...

opened in 2002. From 2003, access from La Paz to the international airport, as well to oil and gas supplies, has been frequently blocked by protesting social leaders and some of the most powerful players in the politics of Bolivia. El Alto remains one of the major centers of the

Bolivian gas conflict The Bolivian gas conflict was a social confrontation in Bolivia reaching its peak in 2003, centering on the exploitation of the country's vast natural gas reserves. The expression can be extended to refer to the general conflict in Bolivia ove ...

. El Alto is known for its

Neo-Andean Neo-Andean is a contemporary architectural movement primarily situated in El Alto, Bolivia, expressed in the city's many ''cholets'', or mini-mansions, and dancehalls. Bolivian architect Freddy Mamani has been described as "the best-known archite ...

architecture, built from the mid-2000s onward. There is a large open-air market.

Gallery

File:La Paz desde el camino a El Alto, Bolivia - panoramio.jpg, El Alto, Bolivia File:Unifranz Sede El Alto.jpg, University in El Alto (Universidad Franz Tamayo) File:Aeropuerto Internacional de El Alto jdb03.JPG, El Alto Airport File:181_-_city_of_El_Alto_-_busy_and_beautiful.jpg, El Alto, La Paz Department File:Che - El Alto - panoramio.jpg, El Alto, Bolivia File:Llaucha ...caliente....llaucha!!! (3762805119).jpg, Winter morning in El Alto File:AA flight from MIA to LPB - cruising through the Andes en route to La Paz, Bolivia - Mt Illamani (6438m) on the right - LPB airport (in El Alto) at 4160m - (24720405392).jpg, El Alto, Bolivia File:Cholet1 (cropped).jpg, Cholet of El Alto.

Government

El Alto is a municipality within the province of Murillo. The government of the city is divided into the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

and

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

branches. The mayor of El Alto is the head of the city government, elected for a term of five years by general election. The legislative branch consists of the municipal council, which elects a president, vice president, and secretary from a group of 11 members. The current mayor is Monica Eva Copa, who defeated MÁS candidate Zacarias Maquera in March 2021 after being ousted by the El Alto party. The previous election was held in March 2021. The Government of El Alto faces competition in providing public services, security and participation with the grassroots and highly successful Fejuve movement.

Transportation

El Alto is connected to La Paz by three lines of the

Mi Teleférico Mi Teleférico (, English: ''My Cable Car''), also known as Teleférico La Paz–El Alto (La Paz–El Alto Cable Car), is an Gondola lift#Urban transport, aerial cable car urban transit system serving the La Paz–El Alto metropolitan area in Bol ...

system. The city is connected to domestic and international destinations by El Alto International Airport.

References

www.ine.gob.bo

External links

Weather in El AltoEl Alto Bolivia
at Discover the World
El Alto Bolivia
—a blog
Cultura en las Alturas

INE – Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Bolivia"My Travels With Pope Francis in Latin America"
by Jim Yardley, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' {{La Paz Department 1985 establishments in Bolivia Populated places established in 1985 Populated places in La Paz Department (Bolivia) Populated places in the Altiplano