Cities located in the mountains. All my life under the clouds: the highest city in the world

Man, like microorganisms, has learned to adapt and survive in the most extreme places, from the sizzling Sahara Desert to the frozen Siberian tundra. People have lived for thousands of years even in inhospitable highlands with thin air. A total of 140 million people live in the Himalayas, Andes and mountains of Ethiopia at altitudes ranging from 2,500 to 8,200 meters above sea level, many of them in rapidly growing cities. Below we will talk about seven high-mountain settlements, each of which lies at an altitude of more than 3 thousand meters above sea level. La Rinconada
The Peruvian city of La Rinconada, located in one of the remote corners of the Andes, was once a gold mining camp, but gradually grew to the size of a large city. This mountainous settlement with a population of more than 50 thousand people, located at an altitude of 5100 m, claims the title of “the highest mountain city in the world.” Despite the fact that the economic life of the city is centered around the gold mine, the infrastructure of the settlement is in poor condition. The city has no running water or sewer system, and backward mining methods have led to serious mercury contamination in the area. Most of La Rinconada's residents are workers who migrated here in hopes of a stable income and a share in the lucrative gold business. Their work is paid according to a cunning system called “cachorreo”. For thirty days they work in the mine for free, and on the 31st day they are allowed to take from the mine as much ore as they can carry. Their wages are all they can independently extract from this ore. Despite the fact that local gold mining companies pay the miners in this strange way, people continue to flock here from all over the region. The population of La Rinconada has increased by 230% in the last ten years.





El Alto

The city of El Alto is one of the largest and fastest growing in Bolivia. It has a population of more than 1.1 million people, is located at an altitude of 4150 m above sea level and is one of the highest settlements peace. El Alto was once just a suburb of the city of La Paz, located on the Altiplano plateau, but in the 1950s, intensive migration from rural areas of Bolivia to the La Paz region led to the fact that within 40 years its suburb acquired the status of an independent city. The area where El Alto is located has a harsh and arid climate and was not inhabited until 1903, when railway lines were built connecting it to Lake Titicaca and the city of Arica. At the edge of the canyon in La Paz was built Train Station, depot and residential buildings for workers railway, in 1925 an airfield appeared, around which neighborhoods also gradually grew. In 1939, the first one opened in El Alto Primary School, and in the 1950s, rapid growth began, caused by the connection of El Alto to the La Paz water network (up until this point, all water in El Alto was brought from La Paz in tanks). In 1985, the El Alto district gained administrative independence from the city of La Paz, and in 1987 it was given city status.



Potosi

Another candidate from Bolivia, Potosi, is located at an altitude of 4090 m above sea level. It was founded in 1545 as a mining settlement. Soon the population of Potosi exceeded 240 thousand people, and it itself became a source of fabulous wealth and the largest city of its time in America and throughout the world. Potosi is located at the foot of the 4,824 m high Cerro Rico de Potosi mountain, which, according to local residents, consists almost entirely of silver ore. The mines of Cerro Rico brought world fame to the city, becoming the main source of silver for the Spanish kingdom during the Conquista. It was from Potosí that the Spanish conquerors removed most of the silver. From 1556 to 1783, 45 thousand tons of pure silver were mined in the mines of Cerro Rico, of which 9 thousand tons were received by the Spanish Monarchy. Due to such intensive mining, the height of the mountain decreased by several hundred meters. In 1672, a mint was established in Potosí to mint silver coins and reservoirs were built to supply the population with water. During the same period, 86 churches were built in the city, and the population of Potosi increased to 200 thousand people, turning it into one of the largest and richest cities in the world. After 1800, as silver supplies began to dry up and the world turned to tin mining, the city's slow economic decline began. However, silver is still mined in the mines of Cerro Rico today. Due to harsh working conditions, lack of protective equipment and constant inhalation of dust, the life expectancy of miners is very short - almost all of them suffer from silicosis and die at the age of about 40 years.



Shigatse

Shigatse is the second largest city in the Tibet Autonomous Region, part of the People's Republic of China. Its population is 100 thousand people and it is one of the largest populated areas in Tibet. Shigatse is located in western Tibet at an altitude of 3840 m above sea level at the confluence of the Yarlung Tsangpo (aka Brahmaputra) and Nianchu rivers. The city, which lies on a plateau surrounded by high peaks, was the ancient capital of the province of Tsang, and is currently administrative center Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

Hulyaka

Juliaca is the capital of the province of San Roman, located in the Puno region in southeastern Peru. This The largest city region with a population of more than 225 thousand people (as of 2007), located at an altitude of 3825 m above sea level on the Altiplano plateau and is the largest center of trade and commerce and transport hub of the Puno region. In addition, the city of Juliaca is closely connected with southern cities Peru, such as Arequipa, Puno, Tacna, Cusco, Ilo and the Bolivian Republic.

Oruro

In the beginning, the city of Oruro, founded on November 1, 1606, was the center of silver mining in the Bolivian Urus region. Today Oruro is one of the largest cities in Bolivia with a population of more than 235 thousand people (according to the 2010 census). It is located at an altitude of 3706 m above sea level. At the end of the 19th century, after silver deposits were depleted, Oruro's mining operations switched to tin mining. For a time, the La Salvadora mine in Oruro was the world's largest source of tin. Gradually, this resource also began to dry up, and Oruro again entered a time of decline. However, the city's main employer is still the mining industry.

Lhasa

Located in the center of the Tibetan plateau in a small valley surrounded by five-thousand-meter Himalayan mountains, Lhasa lies at an altitude of 3600 m above sea level. The Kyi-chu River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, flows through the southern part of the city. The length of Kyi-chu, whose name is translated from Tibetan as “cheerful blue waves,” is 315 km; it flows down from the snow-capped peaks and passes of the Nyenchen Tangla ridge and flows into the Brahmaputra in the Chushu region, creating landscapes of unearthly beauty along its way. Lhasa is the second most populous city on the Tibetan plateau: more than 550 thousand people live there. The city is replete with Buddhist sites of great cultural and historical significance, mainly located in the Chengguang area. Among them are the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple and the Norbulingka Palace complex.



Thanks for the translation Ksenia Churmateeva

The inhabitants of this city are taller than everyone else and look down on everything. And all because they live in a settlement that is located in the mountains and is the highest in the world. TravelAsk will tell you about it today.

Peruvian record holder

The highest mountain city on the planet is called La Rinconada, it is located in. The city is located in the Andes at an altitude of 5100 meters above sea level, very close to the border with Bolivia.

Just imagine, there are climbers who dream of conquering Elbrus (its height is 5,642 meters). This requires special equipment and clothing. And in La Rinconada people live for years at almost the same altitude. In ordinary houses. With ordinary bedrooms. They eat regular food.

Doctors say that this height is the limit for human body. And the living conditions themselves here are far from fabulous: during the day the temperature rises just above zero, at night it’s frosty, add to this the lack of oxygen that is typical for such places.

Despite this, the city is growing steadily: in the 21st century, its population increased by 235%! So what makes people live at such extremes?

Golden fever

It's all about the depths of this earth. This area is rich in gold ore, and one of the largest mines is located here. So people are in no hurry to leave their homes in search of better conditions life. Residents work in difficult conditions.

The following wages are applicable at the mine: you need to work for free for a whole month, and on the last day of the month you take as much ore as you can carry on your own.

How do the people of the highest city live?

There is only one narrow mountain road leading to La Rinconada. The ecology here is unfavorable: garbage from here, apparently, has not been removed for years.

The city also has a poorly developed sewage system and Wastewater. There is also a high mercury content in this area.

But, of course, the city itself is beautiful.

And how can a city located in the mountains be ugly? Even our Russian language is fascinating, despite its terrible state.

The slopes here are very steep and difficult to access.

Who's in second and third place?

Another of the highest mountainous settlements is the settlement of Wenquan, which is located in China in the Qinghai province. The altitude of this village is 4,870 meters above sea level.

In third place is the town of Colquechaca in the region (). It is located at an altitude of 4,692 meters. Just over 1,700 people live here.

The highest mountain in Europe is Elbrus. Climbing it is associated with great risk and altitude sickness. The weather conditions of Elbrus can be called extreme. At the same time, there are several cities in the world located at an altitude comparable to Elbrus. These are the highest cities on the planet - La Rinconada in Peru at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, Namche Bazaar, at an altitude of more than 4,000 m. At the same time, people street the cities not only above the mountains, but also below the sea. How deep can you dive? 2-5 meters? And the Golan people build cities at greater depths - the lowest cities in the world. The lowest city in the world can be called Rotterdam, located 7 meters below sea level. Read more about the highest and lowest cities in the world in the article “The highest and lowest cities in the world.”

The highest cities in the world - La Rinconada, Peru

The highest city in the world is located in the Andes near the border with Bolivia, at an altitude of more than 5,100 meters above sea level. The population of the highest town is 30 thousand people. As doctors say, such a height is the limit for the human body.

The highest city was founded on a mine, where most of the inhabitants work. Despite the very harsh climate: the temperature rises several degrees above zero during the day and frost at night, people are in no hurry to leave their homes in search of better living conditions. Even the lack of oxygen did not stop population growth. In the 21st century it increased by 231%.

And all because of the rich reserves of gold ore. Residents work in difficult conditions. Some of them even work for free for a whole month so that on its last day they can take as much ore as they can carry on their own. The highest city can only be reached along one narrow mountain road.

The highest cities in the world - Namche Bazar, Nepal

The high mountain town of Namche Bazar is a favorite place for tourists and climbers from all over the world, because it is located on the road to Everest, and its height is 4150 meters above sea level. The high town serves as the main transit point for people planning to climb further to the camp on the mountain. This is the last refuge of civilization before high mountain peace.

The highland city was originally built as a trading zone where herders raising yak herds high in the mountains could exchange butter and cheese produced from the milk of these animals for agricultural products grown in the lower regions of Nepal. Namche Bazaar is still the main trading center of the Khumbu region.

The high town has electricity and there is an airport (more precisely, a helicopter station) nearby, but most tourists cannot use it due to protests from local residents. For mass tourism, the Lukla airport is used, from which tourists must make a 24-hour journey to Namche Bazaar (six hours are enough for a very fast walk). Serving tourists in this area provides jobs and income for local residents.

The high-altitude Namche Bazar also houses official offices, police control, a post office and a bank. At the top are the barracks of the Nepalese army. There are hotels in the high city that have special rooms that help people adapt to the rarefied mountain air.

The highest cities in the world - El Alto, Bolivia

Despite its location at 4150 meters above sea level, the city of El Alto ranks second in terms of population in Bolivia - 1 million 700 thousand people.

The highest million population was founded during the construction of the railway connecting La Paz and Lake Titicaca. El Alto is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. In 1992, 424 thousand people lived here, in 2001 - 647 thousand people, in 2010 - already 992 thousand, in 2011 the number of El Alto citizens exceeded 1 million.

As city residents say, being located below sea level does not interfere with their lives. Although there were some problems. For example, during the construction of the city metro: all the tunnels that the authorities tried to build were soon flooded. And then a solution was found - now most of the metro system runs along an overpass or on the surface of the earth.

Lowest cities - Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, and as of January 1, 2012, the population of the Amsterdam municipality is 790 thousand people.

Amsterdam is located five meters below sea level. Because of this, the city is built entirely on stilts, with the help of huge stakes driven into the ground (in our time, many piles “ride”, and the houses are bent in one direction or another). But still, environmentalists warn that this will not save the city. If global warming causes water levels to rise significantly, Amsterdam will be the first city to go under water.

Lowest cities - New Orleans, USA

New Orleans, the largest city in Louisiana, is four meters below sea level. Because of such a low location, the city suffers greatly. Constant hurricanes and typhoons are trying to wipe New Orleans off the face of the earth. Every year it becomes more and more difficult to pump water from an area that is much lower than the ocean. The authorities are fighting this scourge as best they can, but they are powerless in the face of nature.

What was it worth to survive the terrible Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans in 2005?

The most famous mountains in Russia are the Caucasus. They inspired the creators of gold and silver ages. Lermontov’s poems are an excellent confirmation of this, as is Pushkin’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus” and Tolstoy’s story of the same name. And someone happened to live here, near the very mountain peaks. TravelAsk will tell you about the highest city in Russia.

City in Kabardino-Balkaria

Tyrnyauz is the center of the Elbrus region, which is located in Kabardino-Balkaria. It is located in the southwest of the republic, on the banks of the Baksan River, just 40 kilometers from Elbrus. Just look at the views from the windows of the houses.

This is the highest mountainous city in Russia: it is located at an altitude of 1307 meters above sea level.

The city is small, its area is only 61 square kilometers. But the landscapes here are impressive, especially against the backdrop of the “dead” panels.

The elevation changes are enormous: 1.5–2 kilometers.

The entire area is rugged with ridges and gorges in which mountain rivers “live.”

The city even has “its own” peak - the highest point of this settlement is considered to be rocky and steep Toturbashi, its height reaches 2786 meters.

They say that during fogs and low clouds, cranes fly near the surface of the river. This is probably why the city got its name: Tyrnyauz is translated from the Karachay-Balkar language as “crane gorge.”

History of the high mountain city

In 1934, a tungsten-molybdenum deposit was discovered in this territory, where a mining and processing plant was opened. This is where Tyrnyauz grew up. At first, workers from the local Gulag worked here, and then civilian workers took their place. After the collapse of the USSR, the city had a hard time: the metal mining plant, suffering from periodic mudflows, was slowly dying. People began to move to larger cities. And now it’s some kind of ghost town with dilapidated houses and terrifying crime stories, leaving an eerie impression.

Of course, there are plans to revive the city and the plant in particular, but this is taking recent years 15-20.

Today, the road leading to Elbrus passes through the city, so many tourists see Tyrnyauz.

Who is taller than Tyrnyauz

But the highest settlement in Russia is the village of Kurush. It is also the southernmost point of the country. It is located in the Dokuzparinsky district of Dagestan at an altitude of 2560 meters above sea level.

It is from this village that climbers climb many Caucasian peaks: Bazarduzu, Shalbuzdag and Erydag.

Man, like microorganisms, has learned to adapt and survive in the most extreme places, from the sizzling Sahara Desert to the frozen Siberian tundra. People have lived for thousands of years even in inhospitable highlands with thin air. A total of 140 million people live in the Himalayas, Andes and mountains of Ethiopia at altitudes ranging from 2,500 to 8,200 meters above sea level, many of them in rapidly growing cities. Below we will talk about seven high-mountain settlements, each of which lies at an altitude of more than 3 thousand meters above sea level. La Rinconada
The Peruvian city of La Rinconada, located in one of the remote corners of the Andes, was once a gold mining camp, but gradually grew to the size of a large city. This mountainous settlement with a population of more than 50 thousand people, located at an altitude of 5100 m, claims the title of “the highest mountain city in the world.” Despite the fact that the economic life of the city is centered around the gold mine, the infrastructure of the settlement is in poor condition. The city has no running water or sewer system, and backward mining methods have led to serious mercury contamination in the area. Most of La Rinconada's residents are workers who migrated here in hopes of a stable income and a share in the lucrative gold business. Their work is paid according to a cunning system called “cachorreo”. For thirty days they work in the mine for free, and on the 31st day they are allowed to take from the mine as much ore as they can carry. Their wages are all they can independently extract from this ore. Despite the fact that local gold mining companies pay the miners in this strange way, people continue to flock here from all over the region. The population of La Rinconada has increased by 230% in the last ten years.





El Alto

The city of El Alto is one of the largest and fastest growing in Bolivia. It has a population of more than 1.1 million people, is located at an altitude of 4150 m above sea level and is one of the highest mountainous settlements in the world. El Alto was once just a suburb of the city of La Paz, located on the Altiplano plateau, but in the 1950s, intensive migration from rural areas of Bolivia to the La Paz region led to the fact that within 40 years its suburb acquired the status of an independent city. The area where El Alto is located has a harsh and arid climate and was not inhabited until 1903, when railway lines were built connecting it to Lake Titicaca and the city of Arica. A railway station, depot and residential buildings for railway workers were built at the edge of the canyon in La Paz; in 1925, an airfield appeared, around which neighborhoods also gradually grew. In 1939, El Alto opened its first elementary school, and in the 1950s, rapid growth began due to the connection of El Alto to the La Paz water network (up to this point, all water in El Alto was brought from La Paz in tanks ). In 1985, the El Alto district gained administrative independence from the city of La Paz, and in 1987 it was given city status.



Potosi

Another candidate from Bolivia, Potosi, is located at an altitude of 4090 m above sea level. It was founded in 1545 as a mining settlement. Soon the population of Potosi exceeded 240 thousand people, and it itself became a source of fabulous wealth and the largest city of its time in America and throughout the world. Potosi is located at the foot of the 4,824 m high Cerro Rico de Potosi mountain, which, according to local residents, consists almost entirely of silver ore. The mines of Cerro Rico brought world fame to the city, becoming the main source of silver for the Spanish kingdom during the Conquista. It was from Potosí that the Spanish conquerors removed most of the silver. From 1556 to 1783, 45 thousand tons of pure silver were mined in the mines of Cerro Rico, of which 9 thousand tons were received by the Spanish Monarchy. Due to such intensive mining, the height of the mountain decreased by several hundred meters. In 1672, a mint was established in Potosí to mint silver coins and reservoirs were built to supply the population with water. During the same period, 86 churches were built in the city, and the population of Potosi increased to 200 thousand people, turning it into one of the largest and richest cities in the world. After 1800, as silver supplies began to dry up and the world turned to tin mining, the city's slow economic decline began. However, silver is still mined in the mines of Cerro Rico today. Due to harsh working conditions, lack of protective equipment and constant inhalation of dust, the life expectancy of miners is very short - almost all of them suffer from silicosis and die at the age of about 40 years.



Shigatse

Shigatse is the second largest city in the Tibet Autonomous Region, part of the People's Republic of China. Its population is 100 thousand people and it is one of the largest populated areas in Tibet. Shigatse is located in western Tibet at an altitude of 3840 m above sea level at the confluence of the Yarlung Tsangpo (aka Brahmaputra) and Nianchu rivers. The city, which lies on a plateau surrounded by high peaks, was the ancient capital of Tsang Province and is now the administrative center of Shigatse Prefecture in China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Hulyaka

Juliaca is the capital of the province of San Roman, located in the Puno region in southeastern Peru. It is the largest city in the region with a population of more than 225 thousand people (as of 2007), located at an altitude of 3825 m above sea level on the Altiplano plateau and is the largest center of trade and commerce and transport hub of the Puno region. In addition, the city of Juliaca is closely connected with the southern cities of Peru, such as Arequipa, Puno, Tacna, Cusco, Ilo and the Bolivian Republic.

Oruro

In the beginning, the city of Oruro, founded on November 1, 1606, was the center of silver mining in the Bolivian Urus region. Today Oruro is one of the largest cities in Bolivia with a population of more than 235 thousand people (according to the 2010 census). It is located at an altitude of 3706 m above sea level. At the end of the 19th century, after silver deposits were depleted, Oruro's mining operations switched to tin mining. For a time, the La Salvadora mine in Oruro was the world's largest source of tin. Gradually, this resource also began to dry up, and Oruro again entered a time of decline. However, the city's main employer is still the mining industry.

Lhasa

Located in the center of the Tibetan plateau in a small valley surrounded by five-thousand-meter Himalayan mountains, Lhasa lies at an altitude of 3600 m above sea level. The Kyi-chu River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, flows through the southern part of the city. The length of Kyi-chu, whose name is translated from Tibetan as “cheerful blue waves,” is 315 km; it flows down from the snow-capped peaks and passes of the Nyenchen Tangla ridge and flows into the Brahmaputra in the Chushu region, creating landscapes of unearthly beauty along its way. Lhasa is the second most populous city on the Tibetan plateau: more than 550 thousand people live there. The city is replete with Buddhist sites of great cultural and historical significance, mainly located in the Chengguang area. Among them are the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple and the Norbulingka Palace complex.



Thanks for the translation Ksenia Churmateeva