Sur Lípez or Sud Lípez is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in the

Potosí Department Potosí (; Southern Quechua, Quechua: ''P'utuqsi''; Aymara language, Aymara: ''Putusi'') is a Departments of Bolivia, department in southwestern Bolivia. Its area is 118,218 km2 and its population is 856,419 (2024 census). The capital is the ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. The seat of the province is San Pablo de Lípez.

Location

Sur Lípez is one of sixteen provinces in the Potosí Department. Also, the southwesternmost point of Bolivia is located here, at 22° 49' 41.016"

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, 67° 52' 35.004"

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

, at an elevation of approximately 5,400 m on the northeastern slope of the

Licancabur Licancabur () is a prominent, stratovolcano on the Bolivia–Chile border in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes. It is capped by a wide summit crater which contains Licancabur Lake, a Volcanic crater lake, crater lake that is among the hig ...

volcano. It is bordered by the Nor Lípez Province in the north and northwest, Enrique Baldivieso Province in the west, the Republic of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in the southwest and south, the Republic of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in the southeast and east, and Sud Chichas Province in the northeast. The province extends from the northeast to the southwest, at a length of 230 km and an average width of 100 km.

Geography

In its southwestern part, the Quetena Grande Canton lies in the

Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve The Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve (''Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa''; Spanish acronym: REA) is located in Sur Lípez Province. Situated in the far southwestern region of Bolivia, it is the country's most visited ...

, the province has a couple of lakes and salt pans, the largest being Laguna Colorada, which is 10 km in diameter at an elevation of 4,278 m. Other lakes, such as Laguna Verde, Laguna Blanca and Laguna Celeste are also well known for their respectively green, white and blue colors. There is a geyser field called " Sol de Mañana" in southwestern Sur Lípez. The Cordillera de Lípez traverses the province. The highest mountain of the province is

Uturunku Uturuncu is a dormant volcano in the Sur Lípez Province of Bolivia. It is high, has two summit peaks, and consists of a complex of lava domes and lava flows with a total volume estimated to be . It bears traces of a former glaciation, even ...

at . Other mountains are listed below: The tourist circuit La Ruta de las Joyas Altoandinas passes through the spectacular geography of this area.

Division

The province comprises three

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

are further subdivided into

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...

Population

The population increased from 4,158 (1992 census) to 4,905 inhabitants (2001 census), an increase of 18%. 99.4% of the population have no access to electricity, and 90% have no sanitary facilities. 69% of the population is employed in agriculture, 4% in mining, 4% in industry, and 23% in general services. 86% of the population are Catholics, 9% are Protestants. The people are predominantly indigenous citizens of Quechua descent.obd.descentralizacion.gov.bo

Languages

The languages spoken in the province are mainly Spanish and Quechua.

References

External links

Population data (Spanish)Panoramic pictures of the province
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sur Lipez Province Provinces of Potosí Department