Coming up with a good list of interesting facts about Bolivia will take me a few revisions, I am sure, but it will be easier if you let me know if you agree or disagree with the list below:
- Bolivia has two capital cities: Sucre and La Paz. The president and congress reside in La Paz, while the supreme court resides in Sucre. Having two capitals is a consequence of a civil war that took place at the beginning of the 20th century.
- Bolivia is a landlocked country. It lost its access to the Pacific ocean when it lost a war against Chile in the 1880′s.
- Bolivia is a huge country, relatively speaking. It is about the size of California and Texas put together. It also has a small population, about 10 million people as of 2011.
- Back in the 16th and 17th centuries, mines in the Bolivian city of Potosi became the source of a big chunk of the silver that Spain used to grow its empire. At its peak, Potosi had a population similar in size to the population of London and Paris.
- The Uyuni salt flat, which turns into a shallow lake during the rainy season, is so vast and perfectly flat that satellite operators use it to calibrate their navigational instruments.
I’ll add more interesting facts about Bolivia based on your feedback and suggestions.
