BOLIVIA

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navigable  for  light  draught  vessels  and  lighters. ­
  It  is  estimated  that  the  Paraguay,  Beni,
Itenes,  Mamore,  Pilcomayo,  Paragua,  and
other  streams  give  a  total  water  transportation
of  more  than  11,000  miles.  These  streams,
however,  can  be  used  more  advantageously  as
commerce  carriers  toward  Brazil,  Paraguay
and  Argentine  than  to  the  West  Coast  countries. ­
  Various  projects  have  been  suggested
for  dredging  them  and  providing  locks  so  as
to  develop  the  territory  drained  by  them,  but
it  is  doubtful  if  the  next  century  will  see  this
work  started,  although  it  is  feasible.
Lake  Titicaca  is  the  highest  body  of  navigable ­
  water  in  the  world,  the  steamers  which
operate  on  it  having  been  brought  from  Europe ­
  in  sections  and  erected  on  its  banks.  It
is  one  of  the  largest  lakes  in  this  hemisphere,
covering  an  area  of  more  than  4,000  square
miles  and  being  160  miles  long  and  30  wide.
While  the  steamers  which  ply  on  its  surface
carry  passengers,  they  also  bring  all  of  the
freight  into  or  leaving  the  country  via  the  port
of  Mollendo  in  Peru.