| Department of Potosí | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| Coordinates: 20°40′0″S 66°40′0″W / 20.666667°S 66.666667°W | |||
| Country |  Bolivia | ||
| Capital | Potosí | ||
| Government | |||
| - Prefect | Mario Virreira | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 118,218 km2 (45,644.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2001) | |||
| - Total | 709,013 | ||
| - Density | 6.0/km2 (15.5/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | BOT (UTC-4) | ||
| HDI (2004) | - | ||
| Postal abbrv. | |||
Potosí Department is a department in southwestern Bolivia. It comprises 118,218 km² with 709,013 inhabitants (2001 census). The capital is the city of Potosí. It is mostly a barren, mountainous region with one large plateau to the west, where the largest salt flat in the world, Salar de Uyuni, is located.
Potosí was the richest province in the Spanish empire, providing a great percentage of the silver that was shipped to Europe.
It is also the location of the San Cristóbal silver, zinc and lead mines, developed by the US-company Apex Silver Mines Limited of Colorado and in November 2008 sold to the Japanese Sumitomo Corporation.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Provinces of Potosi Department
The department is divided into 16 provinces which are further supbdivided into 40 municipalities [1] (municipios) and 219 cantons (cantónes).
| Province | Capital | km² | Inhabitants |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alonso de Ibáñez | Sacaca | 2.170 | 29.821 | |
| Antonio Quijarro | Uyuni | 14.890 | 37.431 | |
| Bernardino Bilbao | Arampampa | 640 | 10.850 | |
| Charcas | San Pedro de Buena Vista | 2.964 | 41.651 | |
| Chayanta | Colquechaca | 7.026 | 98.946 | |
| Cornelio Saavedra | Betanzos | 2.375 | 61.398 | |
| Daniel Campos | Llica | 12.106 | 5.270 | |
| Enrique Baldivieso | San Agustín | 2.254 | 1.827 | |
| José María Linares | Puna | 5.136 | 50.817 | |
| Modesto Omiste | Villazón | 2.260 | 38.364 | |
| Nor Chichas | Cotagaita | 8.979 | 32.946 | |
| Colcha "K" | 20.892 | 11.594 | ||
| Rafael Bustillo | Uncía | 2.235 | 75.599 | |
| Sud Chichas | Tupiza | 8.516 | 47.005 | |
| San Pablo de Lípez | 22.355 | 5.284 | ||
| Potosí | 3.420 | 189.978 |
[edit] Languages
The languages spoken in the department are mainly Quechua, Spanish and Aymara. The following table shows the number of those belonging to the recognized group of speakers. [2]
| Language | Department | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
| Quechua | 514,421 | 2,281,198 |
| Aymara | 57,738 | 1,525,321 |
| Guaraní | 374 | 62,575 |
| Another native | 356 | 49,432 |
| Spanish | 438,204 | 6,821,626 |
| Foreign | 3,771 | 250,754 |
| Only native | 226,967 | 960,491 |
| Native and Spanish | 301,280 | 2,739,407 |
| Spanish and foreign | 136,980 | 4,115,751 |
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