La Paz

Sister cities

• Santo Domingo
• São Paulo
• London
• Washington, D.C.
• New York City
• Mérida
• Denver
• Iquique
• Zaragoza
• Rio de Janeiro
• Bolzano
• Calama

History

This area had been the site of an Inca city on a major trading route. Although the Spanish conquistadors entered the area in 1535, they did not find La Paz until 1548. Originally it was to be at the site of the Native American settlement, Laja. The town site was moved a few days later to its present location in the valley of Chuquiago, which is more clement. Control over the former Inca lands had been entrusted to Pedro de la Gasca by the Spanish king (and Holy Roman Emperor) Emperor Charles V. Gasca commanded Alonso de Mendoza to found a new city commemorating the end of the civil wars in Peru; the city of La Paz was founded on 20 October 1548, by Alonzo de Mendoza, with Juan de Vargas appointed as its first mayor. In 1549, Juan Gutierrez Paniagua was commanded to design an urban plan that would designate sites for public areas, plazas, official buildings, and a cathedral. These were meant to express the ideals and relationships of Spanish colonial society. La Plaza de los Españoles, which is known today as the Plaza Murillo, was chosen as the location for government buildings as well as the Metropolitan Cathedral. Spain controlled La Paz with a firm grip and the Spanish king had the last word in all matters political, but consultation was extended, taking months or longer by sea. Indigenous and other unrest was repeated around the turn of the nineteenth century. In 1781, for a total of six months, a group of Aymara people laid siege to La Paz. Under the leadership of Tupac Katari, they destroyed churches and government property. Thirty years later Indians conducted a two-month siege against La Paz. This incident was the setting for the origin of the legend of the Ekeko. In 1809, the struggle for independence from the Spanish rule brought uprisings against the…

Geography

La Paz is in the valleys of the Andes, close to the Eastern split of the Altiplano region. The metropolitan area is near to the Cordillera Real range, which includes such notable mountains as Illimani (guardian of La Paz), Mururata, Huayna Potosi, Chacaltaya, Kunturiri, Llamp'u, Chachakumani, Chearoco, and Ancohuma. La Paz is built in a canyon created by the Choqueyapu River (now mostly built over), which runs northwest to southeast. The city's main thoroughfare, which roughly follows the river, changes names over its length, but the central tree-lined section running through the downtown core is called the Prado. The geography of La Paz (in particular the altitude) is marked by social differences. The more affluent residents live in the lower, central areas of the city southwest of the Prado. Many middle-class residents live in high-rise condos near the center. Lower-income residents live in makeshift brick houses in the surrounding hills. The satellite city of El Alto, where the airport is, is spread over a broad area to the west of the canyon, on the Altiplano. An earthquake in July 1994 rated at 8.2 struck north of La Paz. It could be felt near La Paz and caused damage throughout the villages of the area. In February 2002 the city was subjected to a hail and rainstorm that resulted in flooding causing serious damage and over 50 deaths. At more than above sea level, higher parts of La Paz have a cold subtropical highland climate (Köppen: Cwc), bordering on a tundra climate (Köppen: ET). Heavy precipitation typically occurs throughout summer, and often causes destructive mudslides. At an altitude of 3,250 meters, in the southern part of the city, the wettest month is January with a monthly average of , and the driest is July with . The whole city has rainy…

Most-observed species

• Vermilion Flycatcher

  Pyrocephalus rubinus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  4
• Psychophasma erosa Herrich-Schäffer, 1858

  Psychophasma erosa Herrich-Schäffer, 1858 · Insecta
  3
• Paraethria flavosignata Rothschild, 1911

  Paraethria flavosignata Rothschild, 1911 · Insecta
  3
• Crimson-crested Woodpecker

  Campephilus melanoleucos (J.F.Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  3
• Royal Flycatcher

  Onychorhynchus coronatus (Statius Muller, 1776) · Aves
  3
• Alloschemone occidentalis (Poepp.) Engl. & K.Krause

  Alloschemone occidentalis (Poepp.) Engl. & K.Krause · Liliopsida
  3
• Common Scale-backed Antbird

  Willisornis poecilinotus (Cabanis, 1847) · Aves
  3
• Echydna punctata

  Echydna punctata · Insecta
  2