Sorata
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{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Sorata
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| image_skyline = Sorata, Bolivia.jpg
| imagesize =
| image_caption = Panoramic view of Sorata
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| pushpin_map = Bolivia
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Bolivia
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = 25px Bolivia
| subdivision_type1 = Department
| subdivision_name1 = 25px La Paz Department
| subdivision_type2 = Province
| subdivision_name2 = Larecaja Province
| subdivision_type3 = Municipality
| subdivision_name3 = Sorata Municipality
| subdivision_type4 = Canton
| subdivision_name4 = Sorata Canton
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| population_as_of = 2029
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| population_total = 2217
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| timezone = BOT
| utc_offset = -4
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| coordinates = {{coord|15|46|S|68|38|W|region:BO|display=inline}}
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 2678
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Sorata (Aymara: Surat'a) is a small town in the La Paz Department in the Bolivian Andes, northwest of the city of La Paz and east of Lake Titicaca. It is the seat of the Larecaja Province and the Sorata Municipality. At the time of census 2001 it had a population of 2,217.[http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-38&srt=npan&col=aohdq&pt=c&va=x World-Gazetteer]{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} It is a somewhat popular weekend getaway and a relaxing base camp for a growing number of hikers. It includes several small hotels, including a converted Italian mansion.
History
In colonial days, Sorata provided a link to the Alto Beni goldfields and rubber plantations, and a gateway to the Amazon Basin. In August 1781 it was the site of an unorthodox siege by the nephew of Tupac Amaru, Andres, and his 16,000 soldiers. They constructed dikes above the town, and when these had been filled with runoff from the slopes of the nearby peak Illampu, they opened the floodgates and the town was washed away.Deanna Swaney, Robert Strauss, Bolivia (Second Edition), Lonely Planet, 1992.The siege is mentioned in Herbert S. Klein, Bolivia: the evolution of a multi-ethnic society (second edition), Oxford, 1992; however that book makes no mention of the tactic of flooding the town.
Cityscape
Sorata is no longer a major commercial center, as there is now a more direct route to the Yungas from La Paz. Today it is best known to foreign tourists, trekkers, and climbers, who visit this formerly little-known destination. The main square, Plaza General Enrique Penaranda, is Sorata's showcase. It is graced by towering date palms and immaculate gardens. The main town fiesta is held on September 14. Of note is Casa Gunthere, a historic mansion that now houses the Residencial Sorata. It was built in 1895 as the home of the Richters, a quinine trading family.
Sorata is located at the base of the mountains Illampu, 6,368 m (20,892 ft), and Janq'u Uma, 6,427 m (21,086 ft), which are the northern anchors of the Cordillera Real. By the most reliable figures, Janq'u Uma is 11 m (36 ft) lower than Illimani, near La Paz, but surveys in the area are imperfect, and there is much debate between the citizens of both areas as to which mountain is higher.
Climate
Sorata features an unusual subtropical highland climate, with oceanic elements and high levels of diurnal temperature variation.
{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=y
|single line=y
|collapsed = Y
|location = Sorata, elevation {{convert|2647|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Jan high C = 21.3
|Feb high C = 20.8
|Mar high C = 21.1
|Apr high C = 21.4
|May high C = 20.9
|Jun high C = 20.4
|Jul high C = 20.1
|Aug high C = 21.3
|Sep high C = 22.2
|Oct high C = 23.0
|Nov high C = 22.9
|Dec high C = 22.2
| year high C =
|Jan mean C = 15.7
|Feb mean C = 15.6
|Mar mean C = 15.4
|Apr mean C = 15.3
|May mean C = 14.4
|Jun mean C = 13.7
|Jul mean C = 13.4
|Aug mean C = 14.5
|Sep mean C = 15.4
|Oct mean C = 16.2
|Nov mean C = 16.4
|Dec mean C = 16.0
| year mean C =
|Jan low C = 10.1
|Feb low C = 10.3
|Mar low C = 9.8
|Apr low C = 9.2
|May low C = 8.0
|Jun low C = 7.0
|Jul low C = 6.7
|Aug low C = 7.8
|Sep low C = 8.7
|Oct low C = 9.4
|Nov low C = 9.9
|Dec low C = 9.9
| year low C =
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 178.4
|Feb precipitation mm = 160.5
|Mar precipitation mm = 142.1
|Apr precipitation mm = 53.2
|May precipitation mm = 19.2
|Jun precipitation mm = 8.0
|Jul precipitation mm = 6.2
|Aug precipitation mm = 14.7
|Sep precipitation mm = 34.1
|Oct precipitation mm = 53.7
|Nov precipitation mm = 63.6
|Dec precipitation mm = 116.9
|year precipitation mm =
| Jan precipitation days = 20.5
| Feb precipitation days = 18.8
| Mar precipitation days = 18.8
| Apr precipitation days = 9.0
| May precipitation days = 4.2
| Jun precipitation days = 2.3
| Jul precipitation days = 2.5
| Aug precipitation days = 3.6
| Sep precipitation days = 6.3
| Oct precipitation days = 8.6
| Nov precipitation days = 9.7
| Dec precipitation days = 15.9
| year precipitation days =
| Jan humidity = 84.1
| Feb humidity = 84.9
| Mar humidity = 84.3
| Apr humidity = 81.6
| May humidity = 77.6
| Jun humidity = 73.4
| Jul humidity = 75.2
| Aug humidity = 75.0
| Sep humidity = 75.9
| Oct humidity = 76.7
| Nov humidity = 78.0
| Dec humidity = 81.0
| year humidity =
|source 1 = Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología de Bolivia
{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180607025840/http://senamhi.gob.bo/index.php/sismet
| archive-date = 7 June 2018
| url = http://senamhi.gob.bo/index.php/sismet
| title = Base de datos Sistema Meteorológico–SISMET
| publisher = Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología de Bolivia
| language = es
| access-date = 13 June 2024}}
{{cite web
| url = https://www.scribd.com/document/542708736/Indices-Agrometeorologicos-149-Estaciones
| title = índices climáticos para 149 estaciones meteorológicas en Bolivia
| publisher = Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología de Bolivia
| language = es
| access-date = 13 June 2024}}
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{coord|15|46|24|S|68|38|53|W|region:BO_type:city(5000)|display=title}}
{{La Paz Department}}
{{Authority control}}