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• Altiplano
  Altiplano

  noun

  a plateau region in South America, situated in the Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru.
• altiplano
  altiplano

  A high mountain plateau. The most well-known altiplano extends from Lake Titicaca, in southern Peru, to Lake Poopo in Bolivia, covering a distance of 966 km (600 mi). Its average altitude is 3,658 m (12,000 ft).

Altiplano

American  

[al-tuh-plah-noh, ahl-tee-plah-naw] / ˌæl təˈplɑ noʊ, ˌɑl tiˈplɑ nɔ /

noun

• altiplanos
  plural

1. a plateau region in South America, situated in the Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru.

2. Geology. altiplano, an elevated terrace or plateau sculptured by periglacial geomorphic processes.

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Altiplano British  

/ altiˈplano /

noun

1. a plateau of the Andes, covering two thirds of Bolivia and extending into S Peru: contains Lake Titicaca. Height: 3000 m (10 000 ft) to 3900 m (13 000 ft)

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altiplano Scientific  

/ äl′tĭ-plä′nō /

1. A high mountain plateau. The most well-known altiplano extends from Lake Titicaca, in southern Peru, to Lake Poopo in Bolivia, covering a distance of 966 km (600 mi). Its average altitude is 3,658 m (12,000 ft).

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• altiplanos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Altiplano

First recorded in 1910–15; from Spanish: literally, “high plateau,” equivalent to alti- alti- + plano plain ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Altiplano altiplano

The government consulted studies to identify the hours of lightest traffic from Altiplano to an airstrip near Mexico City, where the men would board flights to the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025

US immigration officials handed Cárdenas over to Mexican police at the Otay border crossing, where he was quickly re-arrested and taken to El Altiplano maximum security jail in Mexico state.

From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2024

The researchers started their demonstration with water samples from five high-altitude Andean lakes more than 2.3 miles above sea level in the Chilean Altiplano.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 15, 2024

A 2019 study found that superbolts are concentrated in three specific regions around the world—the North Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Altiplano in South America—and tend to peak from November to February.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 23, 2023

The people did not want these dangerous, expensive devices, even though the Altiplano region has been stripped of fuel wood.

From The BYU Solar Cooker/Cooler by Steven E. Jones

The biggest flaw of Picca, I thought, was Zarate’s attempt to position the Peruvian snack causa into a sort of altiplano sushi with cold mashed potatoes at its base instead of rice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2017

It was in Bolivia in 1994, above 12,000 feet, on the altiplano between the ranges of the Andes Mountains, he said.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 22, 2017

Many of the students are Aymara, an indigenous people who have thrived on the altiplano for centuries by farming and herding llamas and alpacas; for them, the priorities of a high-end restaurant seemed remote.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 4, 2016

That said, domestic quinoa sells out quickly after every harvest, so for the time being quinoa lovers will be importing most of theirs from the altiplano.

From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2013

Taken together, the Cordilleras and the altiplano make up the Andes, the second-biggest chain of mountains in the world.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann