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“Lake Titicaca: Lake, Peru-Bolivia border. The world’s highest navigable lake, it lies at 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) in the Andes. The second-largest lake of South America, it covers some 3,200 square miles (8,300 square kilometers) and is 120 miles (190 kilometers) long by 50 miles (80 kilometers) wide. A narrow strait separates it into two bodies of water which have 41 islands, some densely populated. The remains of one of the oldest American civilizations have been found in the area. Temple ruins on Titicaca Island mark the spot where the legendary founders of the Inca were sent down to the earth by the sun.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

“Bogota: city, capital of Colombia. The District Capital area is officially known as Santafe de Bogota. It lies on a plateau east of the Andes, European settlement began in 1538 when Spanish conquistadores overran Bacata, the main seat of the Chibcha Indians; the name was soon corrupted to Bogota, It became the capital of the viceroyalty of New Granada and a center of Spanish colonial power in South America. It was the scene of a revolt against Spanish rule in 1810-11, and Simon Bolivar took the city in 1819. It became the capital of the confederation of Gran Colombia; when that was dissolved in 1830, it remained the capital of New Granada (later, Republic of Colombia). Today Bogota is an industrial, educational, and cultural center.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.