Potosi

po-to'si, a city of Bolivia. It is situated in the province of the same name about 100 miles southwest of the capital, Sucre. Like Butte and Virginia, it is preeminently a mining city. It is situated at an elevation of 13,000 feet above the sea, being one of the highest inhabited places known. Silver mines were opened as early as 1545. The Spanish crown opened a royal mint for the convenience of the miners. Silver to the value of $3,000,000,000 has been mined here. A hundred years after the opening of the mines the population was estimated at 150,000. The mines are now less productive than formerly and the town has a deserted appearance. At present there are less than 20,000. The mint, the cathedral, several convents, churches, and other public buildings attest the former importance of the city.