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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

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Etymology

Origin of Altiplano

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Altiplano altiplano

The military flights to the Altiplano prison required stopovers to pick up men from across Mexico.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025

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 government eventually managed to fly Guzmán to Mexico City and place him in the maximum-security Altiplano prison.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 6, 2023

For some hours, the association's Altiplano station had been dark and almost deserted.

From Gone Fishing by James H. Schmitz

Wildfires in California, the rapid evaporation of Lake Poopó in the Bolivian altiplano, and deep droughts in the Sahel of Africa and in large parts of Australia are signs of what is to come.

From Slate ● Mar. 1, 2018

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

People have been growing them for millennia on the altiplano, where the bizarre tubers’ funk and color enliven the bleak terrain.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 4, 2016

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

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