La Paz

a city of Bolivia, the seat of the department of La Paz. Latitude, 16$ 30' S. It is situated in the Andes, about forty-five miles by road southeast of Lake Titicaca, at an elevation 12,250 feet above sea level. Imposing cliffs rise 1,000 feet behind the town. The city was founded by the Spaniards in 1548; in 1605 it was made a bishopric. A cathedral founded in that year is one of the most imposing buildings in South America. Other buildings are the Jesuit Church of San Francisco, the University, and a palace occupied by the president when La Paz was the capital of Bolivia. The city is an important educational and church center. It enjoys a trade in copper, silver, tin, gold, grain, potatoes, sugar, coffee, and forest products, and is a distributing point for plantation, mining, grazing, Indian, and forest supplies. The streets are steep. A shaded promenade is maintained. The climate, despite the nearness to the equator, is said to be cooler in summer, and, despite the elevation, warmer in winter, than Paris. Population, about 12,000.