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The reason the Spaniards were drawn to the isolated region that is now Bolivia is because of the "Cerro Rico," a mountain of silver that forms the backdrop for the city of Potosi. This is a street scene in Potosi with the Cerro Rico in the background. The mountain is still being worked today. |
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Potosi is an old city by American standards (1545). At the height of its importance, it was one of the largest cities in the western hemisphere. The tower in the background is from colonial times. |
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This is the doorway to a church in Potosi. It was carved by Indian, slave labor in colonial times. |
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This is a small religious shrine built into a wall in Potosi. |
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The silver mining region was cold and arid (Potosi is about 13,000 ft. above sea level.) The capital of what is now Bolivia was established at the nearby, but much lower and more hospitable, Sucre (a mere 9,000 ft. above sea level.) |
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Even though the more accessible La Paz was made a capital city in a wave of modernization associated with the tin boom of the early 1900s, Sucre remains one of two Bolivian capital cities. It is still the home of the Bolivian Supreme Court. |
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Sucre is a quiet, pleasant city. It is known as the "White City" because many of its buildings are whitewashed. |
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Where Sucre is today was once a flat, shallow marsh. Thousands of dinosaur tracks were preserved in the soft shale strata that was laid down. The tracks were discovered when workers noticed them as they were chewing into the hillside to get material to make cement. |
