La Paz (redirected from Lapaz)

La Paz, city, Bolivia

La Paz (lä päs), city (1992 pop. 713,378), W Bolivia, administrative capital (since 1898) and largest city of Bolivia. The legal capital is Sucre. La Paz, the highest capital in the world, lies at an altitude of c.12,000 ft (3,660 m) and is crowded into a long, narrow valley cut by the La Paz River. The site, where there was an Inca village, was chosen by Alonso de Mendoza in 1548 because it offered a modicum of protection in winter from the wind and cold of the barren high plateau c.1,400 ft (430 m) above. Because of the narrowness of the valley, the city could not be laid out in the customary Spanish gridiron pattern. The Plaza Murillo, named after the independence leader Pedro Domingo Murillo, with the national palace, cathedral, and other buildings, is small; there are only a few broad, long avenues, and the streets ascend steeply on either side. Since the climate is generally cool and extreme variations in temperature are common, what flowers and trees there are must be carefully tended. La Paz's location on colonial trade routes made it the commercial and political focus of colonial life; some of the colonial architecture remains. La Paz is an agricultural market and has light manufacturing industries. Its Univ. of San Andrés was founded in 1830, and a Catholic university in 1966. There are extraordinary tourist attractions in the region, notably the Andean peaks Illimani and Illampú, Lake Titicaca, the ruins of Tiahuanaco, and the adjacent tropical yungas. The city's full name is La Paz de Ayacucho, after a Bolivian victory at Ayacucho, Peru, in the war for independence (1809–25).

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La Paz, city, Mexico

La Paz (lä päs), city (1990 pop. 137,641), capital and largest city of Baja California Sur state, W Mexico. A tourist spot and transportation hub for the southern Baja peninsula, La Paz was first settled in 1811. The city was known for its pearl fishing until the middle of the 20th cent. when the oyster beds were destroyed by disease. It is known for its water sports, as well as being an entry point for the Los Cabos resort area to the south. La Paz is linked to Mazatlán and Los Mochis by ferry, and to Tijuana and Mexicali by highway.

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La Paz

City (pop., 2001: city, 789,558; 2003 metro. area est., 1,477,000), administrative capital of Bolivia. Located in west-central Bolivia, it is the world's highest capital, built over 12,000 ft (3,650 m) above sea level. The city centre lies in a canyon formed by the La Paz River. Founded in 1548 by the Spanish on the site of an Inca village, it was originally called Nuestra Señora de La Paz (“Our Lady of Peace”). Following the Battle of Ayacucho (1824), the decisive battle in the colony's wars of independence, the city was renamed La Paz de Ayacucho, though informally it continues to be called La Paz. Since 1898 it has been the administrative capital of Bolivia, though Sucre remains the judicial capital. It is Bolivia's principal industrial centre and also the site of the University of San Andrés (1830), the National Museum of Art, and the National Museum of Archaeology.

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La Paz

City (pop., 2000: 162,954), capital of Baja California Sur state, northwestern Mexico. Situated on La Paz Bay of the Gulf of California, it is a popular resort and the largest urban centre in the state. The bay was discovered by the Spanish in 1596; the town was established in the early 1800s and served as the capital of Baja California (1828–87). When the peninsula was divided between the U.S. and Mexico (1887), La Paz became the capital of the Mexican region.

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La Paz

a city in W Bolivia, at an altitude of 3600 m (12 000 ft.): seat of government since 1898 (though Sucre is still the official capital); the country's largest city; founded in 1548 by the Spaniards; university (1830). Pop.: 1 533 000 (2005 est.)