=La Paz= is the most northern Department of the plateau region, the third largest, the first in population and importance. It has Colonias north, El Beni and Cochabamba east, Oruro south, and Chile and Peru west. La Paz has an extremely varied landscape with a range in altitude from 640 to 21,750 feet at the top of Mt. Sorata, though some Bolivians give the altitude of this mountain as 24,000 feet. Besides the Cordillera Real the Department includes Lake Titicaca, or as much of it as does not belong to Peru. The lake is remarkable as being the highest in the world on which steamers regularly ply, 12,500 feet is an accepted figure; 12,545 is also given. The lake has an area of 3200 square miles; it is about 120 miles long, 34-44 wide, and 330 feet deep, in places nearly 1000. Other figures are 145 miles long and 69 broad, average depth 492 feet; temperature of water 48°; annual rainfall about 78 inches. Besides the bleak table-land west of the Cordillera Real, the Department comprises many beautiful valleys east of the mountains. It contains, with the capital La Paz, several important though not large cities: Corocoro, a famed copper centre; Sorata, north, a delightful spot, at an altitude of 8000 feet, a centre for the rubber industry and for mining; Achacachi, a big Indian town near the Lake; Copacabana, a very sacred religious shrine, also on the Lake; Coroicas, east in the Yungas Valley. Actual or potential wealth of almost every kind may be found here: large flocks of llamas, alpacas, and some vicuñas; sheep and goats, herds of cattle and horses; vegetable products, coca, cotton, coffee, cereals, etc.; great riches in minerals, gold, silver, tin, copper, rock crystal, berenguela, a fine native marble, all these in fine quality and immense quantity. The wonderfully grand and varied scenery of this Department can be duplicated or rivalled in few quarters of the globe. =Oruro=, directly south of La Paz, between Potosí and Chile, is the smallest of the Departments, entirely on the plateau, thus having a much smaller range of altitude and of climate. Its wealth is in minerals, especially silver and tin, though gold, bismuth, borax, and sulphur are found. Alpaca, chinchilla, and wool are other products. The capital, Oruro, 127 miles south of La Paz, while for years the terminus of the railway from Antofagasta, became an important commercial and industrial centre; in addition it is one of the busiest mining districts. Half of the mining men are foreigners; a large proportion of the ordinary population is Indian. There is also agreeable society, with people quite up to date in Paris fashions. The only other city in the Department is Challapata.