Altiplano Basin

The Altiplano Basin (Spanish: Cuenca del Altiplano) is a sedimentary basin within the Andes in Bolivia and Peru. The basin is located on the Altiplano plateau between the Cordillera Occidental and the Cordillera Oriental. Over-all the basin has evolved through time in a context of horizontal shortening of Earth's crust. The great thickness of the sediments accumulated in the basin is mostly the result of the erosion of Cordillera Oriental.

Altiplano Basin
Cuenca del Altiplano
DEM, showing the approximate area of the basin
Coordinates18°28′S 67°20′W
EtymologyAltiplano
RegionCentral Andes
CountryBolivia
Peru
State(s)La Paz, Oruro, Potosí
Puno
CitiesLa Paz, Oruro, Potosí, Uyuni
Characteristics
On/OffshoreOnshore
BoundariesPasani Fault, Cordillera Occidental, Ayaviri Fault, Cordillera Oriental, Coniri Fault
Part ofIntramontane Andean basins
Area154,176 km2 (59,528 sq mi)
Hydrology
River(s)Desaguadero River
Lake(s)Titicaca, Poopó
Geology
Basin typePiggy-back
PlateSouth American
OrogenyAndean
AgeEarly Paleozoic-Holocene
StratigraphyStratigraphy
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