ORURO, a mining town of Bolivia, capital of a department of the same name, stands on a bare hill, 13,000 feet above the sea, on the right bank of the Desaguadero, where it falls into Lake Aullagus. The population has declined very much, and the town is surrounded by the ruins of houses that were once inhabited. Pop. 6000.
The department of Oruro is bounded on the N. by the department La Paz, E. by those of Cochabamba and Chuquisaca, S. by that of Potosi, and W. by Peru; area, 25,842 square miles. Pop. 117,000.