La Paz City Tour

Day 14
July 19, 2016
La Paz City Tour

La Paz is an interesting place. Based on a recommendation, we took a city tour. Our guide knew a lot about La Paz's underlying geology and riverine system.

Three underground rivers run underneath the city. The waterways, in some places, are only 5 to 10 meters from the surface. The underlying bedrock of La Paz is sand, clay, and siltstone. Some residents take advantage of this and pump water directly from the underground rivers into their homes.

A view of La Paz from El Alto

It is not very stable. In some areas, where the high rises are located, granite underlies the city and makes it stable. Fortunate for the people of La Paz the shield and composite volcanoes that surround the city are in hibernation. In addition, the faults near the city do not act up often - though there was a quake in 1994 200 miles from the north side of La Paz - the quake happened along a very deep fault (Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/EO076i002p00009-02/abstract).


The guide told us that the government has recognized that increased population and traffic is leading to increased pollution in La Paz (which is in a valley flanked by mountain barriers). In response, the government is planting trees along the foothills of mountains). There is a cable car system called the Teleferico hovers above the city, which is solar powered and incredibly quiet.

An extinct train - near Bolivia's famed salt flats called Uyuni there is a whole train cemetery (in an economic downturn the government shutdown all of Bolivia's passenger trains - they are still shutdown)

The Teleferico's solar panels

The Telerferico cable car in action

We visited Valle de la Luna or Valley of the Moon, which is a series of sandstone structures that rise from the Earth like some lunar landscape. The rainy season destroys the vertical spires of moon valley. The three underground rivers converge at the Valley of the Moon. In some places the rivers come very close to the surface and results in sinkholes (in some areas the waters allow for plants to grow). Also, the world's highest golf course is located near the Valley of the Moon. There are also several large houses. Our guide says that the government has been trying for years to move these houses.

The Valley of the Moon and its spires

KD and PC at the Valley of the Moon

Check the sediment - sand, silt and pebbles are visible. 

We also visited very arid and fast growing El Alto, which is now Bolivia's 2nd largest city and growing fast. We checked out the sprawling food market and the infamous witches market where you can do all sorts of magical things.

Two of the 400 varieties of potatoes found in Bolvia

PC and our guide on the arid slopes of El Alto city

Look out for another post tomorrow. I'll shout out two great organizations that I visited yesterday.

Best,
PC