La, a town of Bolivia, capital of a department of the same name, stands on both sides of the deep ravine Quebrada-de-Choqueapu, 12,195 feet above the level of the sea, but 620 below that of Lake Titicaca, from which it is not far distant; S. Lat. 16° 30', W. Long. 68° 30'. The streets are irregular, and some of them very steep; but there is a very handsome public square. Nine elegant bridges cross the stream, which flows through the ravine, and which forms one of the sources of the Amazon. Of the 15 churches, the chief is the cathedral, a large and noble edifice. There is also a university, a school of law, college of sciences, school of mechanical arts, and other seminaries. A large proportion of the inhabitants are Indians, who live in mud huts, and retain their primitive language and mode of life. La Paz is the principal commercial town in Bolivia, European goods being brought thither from Peru, and exchanged for gold, bark, and other commodities of the country. It was founded in 1548, under the name of Nuestra Señora de la Paz, and soon became a place of much importance. Since 1605 it has been the seat of a bishopric. In 1825 the name was changed to that which it now bears, in honour of the victory of Ayacucho, which secured the freedom of the country. Pop. 42,000.

Paz, La, a department of Bolivia, bounded on the N. and E. by that of Beni, S. by those of Cochabamba and Oruro, and W. by Peru, has an extent of 36,418 square miles. It comprises those valleys of the Cordilleras through which the head streams of the Rio Beni flow. Pop. 346,000.