Un altiplano es una meseta de tierras altas o una meseta intermontana elevada, que generalmente se encuentra entre dos o más cordilleras recientes (Cenozoico o Terciario), pero cuyo aumento no ocurrió al mismo tiempo.
Alpine ridges, whose elevation occurred in the Tertiary, are usually arranged in two or more parallel mountain alignments, usually located on the edge of a continental tectonic plate on the lines of convergence with another plate, which is usually oceanic. Since these mountain ranges did not rise at exactly the same time, sometimes there are intermountain valleys or basins between which it rose first, which is generally found towards the interior of the continent, and which rose later. This intermountain plateau 1 can be of volcanic origin (lava flows and other volcanic materials) and can consist of sedimentary materials and, as is often the case, a combination of both materials, as in the Andean highlands.
The Andean plateau is the Andean, South American or American plateau; It has an average height of more than 4000 meters above sea level. It is part of a wide endorheic basin nestled between the western and eastern mountain ranges of the Andes. It is an intermountain basin in the Andes mountain range that has been filled with sediment and elevated throughout the Andes.
It constitutes a large endorheic basin crossed by the Desaguadero river, which is the natural mouth of Lake Titicaca (3806 meters above sea level, the highest navigable lake in the world), which flows into Lake Poopó (3685 meters above sea level) and episodically into the Salar de Uyuni (3653 masl), the largest salt flat in the world.
The Altiplano of Bolivia includes 60 municipalities in the departments of La Paz, Oruro and Potosí.
The vegetation of the highlands is the semi-arid puna, with meadows dominated by native grasses of low nutritional value, such as Iru ichu and others with high nutritional content such as Kauchi; There are also shrubs like Thola, Quishuara and Kentia.
Soils in general are poor in nitrogen and phosphorus, and have low organic matter content (less than 3%, with high salt values). In using the land of the Altiplano family properties they intermingle with the community. Most of them are intended for livestock in the rearing of llamas, sheep, alpacas and cattle, varying the importance of each species according to the region.
