The Cordillera Occidental or Western Cordillera of
Bolivia is part of the
Andes (that is also part of the
American Cordillera), a
mountain range characterized by volcanic activity, making up the natural border with
Chile and starting in the north with
Juqhuri and ending in the south at the
Licancabur volcano, which is on the southern limit of Bolivia with
Chile. The border goes through the innominated point located at two-thirds of elevation of
Licancabur's northeastern slope at the southwestermost point of Bolivia at 22° 49' 41" south and 67° 52' 35" west. The climate of the region is cold and inadequate for animal and plant life. Its main feature is its ground, in which are large quantities of metallic minerals including
gold,
silver,
copper, and others.[1][2][3]The range consists of three sections:
The northern section, in which you can find the highest peaks in Bolivia, tallest of which is the volcano
Sajama at 6,542 meters. Sajama is perennially covered in snow. It contains the volcanoes
Pomerape and
Parinacota (called
Payachata collectively), the latter being a dormant volcano with a cone of snow similar to
Mount Fuji in
Japan.
The central section, situated between
Uyuni and
Coipasa. Its most prominent summit is the
Ollagüe (Ullawi) volcano on the border with Chile.
The southern section, characterized by volcanic activity and by having sandstorms and fog, taking into account
Licancabur, which is 5,920 meters high (but only two-thirds of the northeastern slope of the volcano belong to Bolivia up to 5415 meters). The lakes
Laguna Colorada and
Laguna Verde can be found on Licancabur, so named because of their respective colors.