Sur Lípez Province


Sur Lípez or Sud Lípez is a province in the Potosí Department in Bolivia. The seat of the province is San Pablo de Lípez.

Location

Sur Lípez is one of sixteen provinces in the Potosí Department. Also the southwesternmost point of Bolivia is located here, at 22° 49' 41.016" South, 67° 52' 35.004" West, at an elevation of approximately 5,400 m on the northeastern slope of the Licancabur volcano.
It is bordered by the Nor Lípez Province in the north and northwest, Enrique Baldivieso Province in the west, the Republic of Chile in the southwest and south, the Republic of Argentina in the southeast and east, and Sud Chichas Province in the northeast.
The province extends from the northeast to the southwest, at a length of 230 km and an average width of 100 km.

Geography

In its southwestern part, the Quetena Grande Canton which lies in the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve, the province has a couple of lakes and salt pans, the largest being Laguna Colorada, which is 6 km in diameter at an elevation of 4,278 m. Other lakes, such as Laguna Verde, Laguna Blanca and Laguna Celeste are also well known for their respectively green, white and blue colors. There is a geyser field called "Sol de Mañana" in south-western Sur Lípez.
The Cordillera de Lípez traverses the province. The highest mountain of the province is Uturunku at. Other mountains are listed below:
The tourist circuit La Ruta de las Joyas Altoandinas passes through the spectacular geography of this area.

Division

The province comprises three municipalities which are further subdivided into cantons.
SectionMunicipalitySeat
1stSan Pablo de Lípez MunicipalitySan Pablo de Lípez
2ndMojinete MunicipalityMojinete
3rdSan Antonio de Esmoruco MunicipalitySan Antonio de Esmoruco

Population

The population increased from 4,158 to 4,905 inhabitants, an increase of 18%.
99.4% of the population have no access to electricity, 90% have no sanitary facilities. 69% of the population are employed in agriculture, 4% in mining, 4% in industry, 23% in general services. 86% of the population are Catholics, 9% Protestants.
The people are predominantly indigenous citizens of Quechua descent.
Ethnic groupSan Pablo de Lípez Municipality Mojinete Municipality San Antonio de Esmoruco Municipality
Quechua81.598.388.4
Aymara0.81.00.5
Guaraní, Chiquitos, Moxos0.00.00.0
Not indigenous17.50.3710.9
Other indigenous groups0.10.00.02

Languages

The languages spoken in the province are mainly Spanish and Quechua.
LanguageSan Pablo de Lípez MunicipalityMojinete MunicipalitySan Antonio de Esmoruco Municipality
Quechua1,7225951,344
Aymara2439
Guaraní001
Another native001
Spanish2,0435711,315
Foreign900
Only native31395204
Native and Spanish1,4195031,146
Only Spanish62468169