THIS name was given in honour of Bolivar (see last article) to a state in South America, formed in 1825 from the provinces of Upper Peru which formerly constituted part of the vice-royalty of Buenos Ayres. The bulk of the country extends from 10° to 23° S. lat., and from 58° to 71° W. long., and it is bounded on the N. by Peru and Brazil, on the E. by Brazil and Paraguay, on the S. by the Argentine Republic and Chili, and on the W. by the Pacific Ocean and Peru. The greater part of Bolivia is a mountainous and elevated country, more particularly at its western and central parts; but towards the east it becomes much less so, and at length terminates in extensive plains, which are bounded on the east by Brazil. From the Pacific coast the southern boundary of Bolivia runs along the 24th parallel of latitude (the limit decided by treaty with Chili in August 1866), to as far as the crest of the Andes; turning S. it follows the line of the mountains to 26° 8. lat., in which parallel it crosses the plateau to the inner Cordillera, along which it lies N.N.E. to the 22d parallel. This line of latitude forms the boundary of territory which is certainly Bolivian, as far as the River Paraguay; but Bolivia, in common with the Argentine Republic and Paraguay, has claims on the unexplored territory of the Gran Chaco, which lies south of this line, and between the rivers Pilcomayo and Paraguay. From 22° on the River Paraguay, the frontier with Brazil was decided, by treaty of March 1867, to be a line following that river northward to the Bahia Negra in 20° 1Γ, along the Negra to its termination, and thence through the midst of the lagoons of Caceres, Mandioré, Gaiba, and Uberaba (lying immediately west of the Paraguay River), to Corixa Grande; thence in a straight line to Boa Vista and the source of the Verde; down that river to the Guapore, and along the latter to where the Beni joins it in 10° 20' 8.; thence in a straight line towards the source of the River Javary (in 7° 8.) The present Government of Bolivia appears inclined, however, to repudiate this treaty, and to return to the older frontier, which included the tributaries of the Amazons as far as 6° 28’ S. On the Peruvian or western frontier the boundary follows a more or less northerly direction from the mouth of the River Loa in Atacama, along the Cordillera, crossing Lake Titicaca, and passing north thence to the line running from the Beni to the Javary.

Before the formation of the republic, Bolivia, or the former province of Charcas, consisted of four great districts or “intendencias∕ ’ which were under the rule of the viceroy of Rio de la Plata. These were—

1. Santa Cruz, formed of the districts of its bishopric— Mojos, Chiquitos, Santa Cruz, Valle Grande, Misque, and the special jurisdiction of its capital Cochabamba;

2. La Paz, consisting of the dioceses of its bishopric;

3. Potosi, comprising Tarija, Chichas, Lipez, Atacama, Porco, and Chayanta;

4. The province of La Plata, which embraced all remaining portions of the archbishopric.

At the present time the republic is divided politically into departments, provinces, and cantons. The departments, which are named La Paz de Ayacucho, Cochabamba, Potosí, Chuquisaca, Oruro, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Tarija, Beni, and Atacama, have each one or two capital towns; the provinces and cantons have also each its chief place. Each department has a governor, who stands in direct communication with the Government; the subdivisions have their corregidors and alcaldes, who are subject to the governor.

The westerly departments of La Paz, Oruro, and Potosi are situated in the highest regions of the plateau of Bolivia, and are more valuable on account of their mineral riches than for their vegetable products, of which a coarse grass is characteristic. The first consists of a series of high ranges and deep valleys, in which the climate and production vary with the elevation; the second lies also in the high table-land or Puna region; both are rich in veins of gold, silver, and tin, but the mining of these has not yet been fully developed. The third, Potosi, belongs entirely to the highest regions of Bolivia, and is bare and dry, with a cold and rude but healthy climate; this is the greatest mining region of the country.

The central departments of Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, and Tarija lie partly on the high plateau, partly on the lower slopes and plains eastward, and pass thus through the whole series of changing climates and zones of production, from the bare high land to the tropical regions of the low lands. The first is eminently the granary of Bolivia and southern Peru, excelling in the cultivation of wheat; the industries of woollen and cotton manufactures are also most highly developed in the department, but its mines are not worked. Chuquisaca, of which only a third part lies in the high land, is also a vegetable growing region, in which wheat, barley, rice, peas, vines, and all sorts of vegetables are cultivated; cattle and horses are also numerous. The forests of this department and of Tarija, which slope down to the wooded and pastoral plains of the tributaries of the Paraguay, afford many species of valuable timber.

The departments of Beni (or Veni) and Santa Cruz de la Sierra lie altogether in the low lands of the east, stretching to the Rio Maderia and the Paraguay. The former is as yet little explored, but is a land of tropical forests, rivers, and swamps, with an unhealthy climate. Santa Cruz is also characterized by a hot, damp atmosphere, but produces garden and field fruits in astonishing richness,—coffee, cocoa, vanilla, sugar-cane, maize, and cotton. The forests of both of these departments afford an infinity of valuable timber trees, and in the latter there is much pasture land well fitted for cattle breeding

The department of Atacama, which belongs geographically either to Peru or Chili, forms the only part of Bolivia which comes into contact with the ocean, and is situated between the Andes and the Pacific coast. It is almost entirely desert and sterile, has many volcanoes, and is characterized by rapid changes of temperature; it is almost destitute of population, and is only inhabited in those parts of the coast in which valuable guano deposits are found, or where the nitrate deposits and silver mines in the interior are worked. Near its northern limit is situated the small port of Cobija, the only avenue by which foreign articles of commerce can enter the Bolivian Republic without the payment of transit duties It has obtained peculiar and valuable privileges as an encouragement to the introduction of merchandise by this route, in preference to the more convenient routes by the Puertos Intermedios, belonging to the Republic of Peru. But the arid nature of the surrounding country, and the great scarcity of water, must greatly retard its advancement, since not only are the inhabitants scantily supplied with this necessary of life, but the mules employed in transporting goods into the interior are exposed to great hardships.

Western Bolivia is the highest and most mountainous country of the two Americas Five separate systems of mountains, curving from Peru in the north-west and passing south into Chili, may be distinguished as forming its high land. Nearest the Pacific is the range of the outlying coast mountains, which does not exceed 5000 feet in altitude. The range of the true Andes rises farther inland, forming part of the vast chain which extends along the whole of America; in Bolivia it attains an average height of 15,000 feet, and has a general width of 20 miles, having its highest known point here in the volcano of Sahama, 23,000 feet in elevation. Next follows the central system of the Cordillera Real, also named the eastern Cordillera, presenting a succession of sharp, rugged peaks, reaching up into the region of eternal ice and snow, higher generally than the Andes, but less massive: the peaks of Illimani (21,300 feet) and Sorata(24,800 feet)are its culminating points. Between the Andes and the Cordillera Real there are various Serrania or isolated groups of mountains, and single cerros of less altitude, rising from the enclosed plateau to 17,000 feet in some instances. The last system is that of the numerous minor Cordilleras, which run south-eastward from the Cordillera Real into the lowlands of eastern Bolivia, of which the most important is that of Cochabamba, stretching out to 62° 40' E. long. The elevation of the snow line in the highlands of Bolivia appears to vary between 16,000 and 18,000 feet, modified in many cases by the aspect of the mountains and the nature of the country surrounding them, being raised where heat is powerfully reflected from the surface of the bare high plains, or lowered where the mountains are exposed to cold southerly winds. Volcanoes are frequent in the Andes and coast ranges; those of Sahama and Isluga, with Tua, Olea, and Ollagua farther south, are constantly smoking.

These mountain systems divide Bolivia into a high region, containing many very elevated plains stretching between the enclosing heights of the west, and a low land forming the eastern side of the country, beneath the mountains, and at a comparatively small elevation above the sea. The high plains or basins of the plateau enclose a continental water system, from which there is no outlet to the ocean, the rivers terminating in lakes, of which Lake Titicaca is the chief, or in swamps, or in vast dried up salt fields,—rapid evaporation disposing of and balancing the supply of water flowing to these by the mountain streams.

The valley or plateau which is occupied by the Lake of Titicaca and the Rio Desaguadero forms the most elevated table-land in the globe, with the exception of that of Thibet, which presents only mountain pastures, covered with sheep; while this table-land of the New World presents towns and populous cities, affords support to numerous herds of cattle, llamas, guanacos, and sheep, and is covered with harvests of maize, rye, barley, and wheat, at an elevation which has nothing to equal it in any other part of the world. The Lake of Titicaca or Chuquito, which occupies its northern extremity, is 12,600 feet above the level of the sea, and its extent is equal to fourteen times that of the Lake of Geneva, or 3220 square miles, the greatest depth being upwards of 700 feet. It is surrounded by numerous towns and villages, and a rich and fertile country, and contains several islands, the largest of which is called Titicaca, and was long held in great veneration by the Peruvian Indians, in consequence of its having been the place whence Manco Capac and his consort Manco Oello Huaco, the great founders of the empire of the Incas, issued, to spread civilization, industry, and good government among the surrounding nations. The Lake of Titicaca is very irregular in its form. It admits of extensive navigation for small vessels, though not unattended with danger, as it is subject to sudden storms and violent gusts of wind from the neighbouring mountains. This lake communicates with the smaller Lake of Pansa, or of the “Pampa Aullagas,” situated at the southern extremity of the valley, by means of the Rio Desaguadero, which flows out of the Lake of. Titicaca, and has a breadth of from 80 to 100 yards. This river and lake form part of the western boundaries between the Republics of Bolivia and Peru. Over the river was formed, in the time of the Incas, a suspension bridge, composed of cables and cords made of the grass and rushes which grow on its borders; and the work was constantly renewed from time to time, to obviate the effects of decay, as it constituted the only line of communication between the opposite sides of the valley. These lakes, with the Desaguadero, form the only receptacles for the water of those rivers and streams which descend from the surrounding mountains and enter this extensive plain, which has no visible outlet whereby its contents can escape otherwise than by evaporation.

Those rivers which take their rise from the western declivity of the Andes, and flow into the Pacific, are so inconsiderable in magnitude, and so short in their course, as scarcely to merit observation, and are only useful in supplying the means of a partial irrigation to the arid plains which separate these mountains from the Pacific. But those numerous rivers taking their origin on the eastern declivity of the Cordillera Real, which is the main waterparting of Bolivia, present a very different aspect, and are of much greater importance, since they communicate with large navigable rivers, which terminate in the Atlantic Ocean.

The River Paro or Beni, which takes its origin in the neighbourhood of the city of La Paz, and the Guapey, which rises near Cochabamba, and, sweeping round the southern and eastern bases of the Cordillera of Cochabamba, unites itself to the Mamore, flow to the north-east to mingle with the waters of the Madeira and the mighty Maranon or Amazons; while the Pilcomayo, which rises near Potosi and Chuquisaca, and the Vermejo, from the valley of Tarija, bend their courses, at a considerable distance from each other, to the south-east, until they join the Paraguay, which terminates in the Rio de la Plata. Possessing only a small extent of sea-board, and that in a perfect desert difficult of passage, and behind which the lofty range of the Andes forms a huge barrier, the whole of the rich provinces of eastern Bolivia are land-locked and almost isolated from communication with the outer world. The most natural outlets of the country appear to be in the rivers flowing to the great mediterranean navigation system of the Amazons in the north, or to the Rio de la Plata. More than forty years ago the importance of opening up a river highway from eastern Bolivia to the Rio Paraguay had impressed itself strongly on the Government, and large grants and privileges were offered in encouragement of this object, the rivers Otuquis, Tucabaca, and Latirequiqui, flowing to the Paraguay about the 20th parallel, being looked to as probably affording the desired navigable way. As yet, however, though this plan has been frequently revived, no definite progress has been made in this direction. An expedition sent down the Rio Pilcomayo in 1844 reported it innavigable. On the side of the Amazons, the rapids of the River Madeira, 18 in number, and extending over a distance of 230 miles, form a great natural barrier; to overcome this and to connect the navigable upper tributaries in Bolivia with the navigation of the lower Madeira, a company was recently formed for the construction of a railroad along the interrupted portion of the course of the Madeira: this scheme also is for the present in abeyance. It seems probable, however, that the recent opening of regular navigation on the Rio Vermejo from the Paraguay to the upper Argentine province of Jujuy on the southern frontier of Bolivia may to some extent afford an outlet, and tend to develop the resources of that part of the country.

Bolivia lies, as has been noticed, for the most part within the tropical zone; but from its peculiar formation, its climate and productions are dependent rather upon the elevation of different parts of the land than upon its geographical situation. In descending from the highest region of snow and ice to the low plains of rich tropical vegetation several zones or stages are distinguished. The name Puna brava is given to the uppermost mountain regions which rise above 12,500 feet to the snow limit: these are scarcely inhabited by man, and are characterized by mosses and hardier grasses,—the animal kingdom being represented by the vicuna, guanaco, llama, alpaca, viscacha, chinchilla, besides the condor and other birds of prey. The region between an elevation of 11,000 feet and the lower Puna brava is termed the Puna; less cold than the former, it is suited for the growth of potatoes, barley, and rush-like grasses, upon which sheep, llamas, vicunas, &c., may feed. This division embraces the whole of the high plains of Bolivia, which are but scantily peopled or cultivated. Several species of cactus are found in these elevated regions, and especially the Cactus peruvianus, which sometimes grows to a height of from 20 to 30 or even 40 feet, and is serviceable for many purposes. Under the general name Cabezera de Valle are grouped the heads of the valleys descending to the lower lands, between 9500 and 11,000 feet in elevation, where the climate is temperate. These cultivable districts produce wheat, maize, and the ordinary vegetables. The Valle or Medio Yunga is the general name of the deeper portions of the valleys, between 9500 and 5000 feet, with warm climate, affording field and garden fruits in abundance. The Yunga, lastly, is the low tropical region, comprising all beneath 5000 feet, and producing all kinds of tropical fruits and vegetation.

In the punas the air is always dry and perceptibly cold, though the temperature may rise high in the sun, and cold, cutting blasts of air from the mountains are of frequent occurrence. In the Valle and upper Yunga a perpetual spring seems to reign, and night frosts are rare. The western side of the Andes is completely rainless, all moisture-bearing clouds rolling up from the ocean being quickly evaporated, or condensed in the higher mountain regions in snow or hail; but the whole of the remaining eastern region of Bolivia has a rainfall. In the lowlands this is irregular in season; but in the upper regions of the Puna and the Cabezera de Valle, a rainy season generally begins in the middle of November and concludes in the beginning of March, often accompanied by furious thunder-“storms, with hail and snow in the higher regions. The climate of Potosi, at an elevation of 13,300 to 13,600 feet, is so various that in one day it frequently exhibits the vicissitudes of the four seasons of the year. Thus, during the night and the early part of the morning it is piercingly cold; in the forenoon it resembles our fine weather in March; in the afternoon the rays of the sun in so pure and attenuated an atmosphere are very powerful and scorchingly hot; while towards evening the air usually becomes mild and serene. Strangers on first arriving in these higher plains are usually affected with difficulty of breathing, owing to the extreme rarity of the atmosphere; they are likewise sufferers from dysentery, which, however, for the most part soon disappears, and in general the highlands are by no means unhealthy. Travellers in the higher regions are exposed to great danger and hardships owing to the storms which occasionally prevail, especially snow storms, which frequently produce the surumpi, or snow blindness, an affection which has proved fatal to some travellers. An infectious fever called “fiebre amarilla” sometimes breaks out in the Indian villages of the Puna, causing great loss of life; coughs and lung diseases are prevalent among the children in the punas, and do much injury among grown people in the Valle and Yungas. In descending through the eastern provinces towards the plains of Mojos and Chiquitos, all the gradations of climate are experienced down to that which characterizes the equinoctial regions of America, where intermittent “terciana” or cold fevers, dysenteries, and other diseases peculiar to warm climates prevail.

The animals which distinguish the more elevated parts of Bolivia are the guanaco, the llama, the alpaca (the first supposed to be the original from which the second and third varieties have been domesticated), and the vicuna. These animals, in their structure and habits, are all closely allied to the camel of Africa. Thus, an examination of the structure of the stomach shows that they are capable of existing during a considerable time without any supply of water, and in fact they are seldom seen to drink from the streams of their native mountains. The camel seems peculiarly well calculated to live in the arid and burning deserts of the Old World, and the form of its feet is singularly adapted for traversing rapidly these extensive plains; whilst, on the other hand, the guanaco and the llama have their feet so constructed as to enable them with facility to ascend and descend the abrupt declivities, and to traverse the rugged and uneven passes which abound in these mountains. They seem likewise to frequent particularly those parts of the Cordillera of the Andes which are the most dry and arid, and which are least clothed with forests and shrubbery. Thus, in the Cordillera which separates the Argentine Republic from Chili, the guanacos are found in great numbers on the summits and eastern declivities, which are exceedingly arid and bare when...