A high plateau in the Andes mountains of South America, particularly the vast elevated plain shared by Peru and Bolivia at about 12,000 feet above sea level.
Spanish term combining 'alti-' (high, from Latin 'altus') and 'plano' (plain, from Latin 'planus'). Entered English in the 18th-19th centuries as geographic knowledge of South America expanded through exploration and trade.
The Altiplano is one of Earth's largest and highest mountain plateaus, and indigenous peoples there have adapted so well that their bodies produce more red blood cells than lowlanders—their genes literally evolved to survive in air with half the oxygen.
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