Nor Lípez Province

Nor Lípez is a province in the Bolivian department of Potosí. Its seat is Colcha "K", also called Villa Martín. The majority of the area of the province was titled as the Nor Lípez Native Community Land on 19 April 2011. One of the largest mines of Bolivia, the San Cristóbal Mine, is located near San Cristóbal in Colcha "K" municipality.

Nor Lípez
Province
James's flamingos at Cañapa Lake, Colcha "K" Municipality
Flag Seal
Location of the Nor Lípez Province within Bolivia
Provinces of the Potosí Department
Coordinates: 21°14′0″S 67°27′0″W
Country	Bolivia
Department	Potosí Department
Capital	Colcha "K"
Area
• Total	10,883 sq mi (28,187 km2)
Population  (2024 census)[1]
• Total	14,241
• Density	1.3/sq mi (0.51/km2)
• Ethnicities	Quechua
Time zone	UTC-4 (BOT)

Geography

Some of the highest mountains of the province are listed below:^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}

• Allqa Urqu
• Chakra Urqu
• Chiwana
• Chullunkhäni
• Chumpi Urqu
• Ch'aska Urqu
• Iru Phutunqu
• Kachi Unu
• Kuntur Umu
• K'uchu Unu
• Luxsar
• Millu Urqu
• Muru
• Paruma
• Patilla
• Puka Wasi
• Qaral
• Suni K'ira
• Tankani
• Tijtin
• Ullawi
• Ullqa
• Wanaku
• Yanantillayuq
• Yarita

Location

The province is one of sixteen provinces in the Potosí Department. It is located between 20° 27' and 22° 01' South and between 66° 18' and 68° 35' West.

It is bordered by the Daniel Campos Province to the north, the Republic of Chile to the west, the Enrique Baldivieso Province and Sur Lípez Province to the south, Sud Chichas Province to the east, and the Antonio Quijarro Province to the northeast.

The province extends over 270 km from east to west and 210 km from north to south.

Division

The province comprises two municipalities which are further subdivided into cantons.

Section	Municipality	Inhabitants 2001 [8]	Seat	Inhabitants 2001
1st	Colcha "K" Municipality	9,645	Colcha "K" or Villa Martín	853
2nd	San Pedro de Quemes Municipality	815	San Pedro de Quemes	508

Population

The population increased from 8,320 (1992 census) to 10,460 inhabitants (2001 census), an increase of 25,7%.

About 96% of the population have no access to electricity, 93% have no sanitary facilities. 61% of the population are employed in agriculture, 9% in mining, 2% in industry, 28% in general services. 90% of the population are Catholics, 6% are Protestants.

The people are predominantly indigenous citizens of Quechuan descent.^[9]

Ethnic group	Colcha „K“ Municipality (%)	San Pedro de Quemes Municipality (%)
Quechua	88.2	45.0
Aymara	5.6	6.3
Guaraní, Chiquitos, Moxos	0.1	0.2
Not indigenous	6.0	48.3
Other indigenous groups	0.1	0.2

Languages

The languages spoken in the province are mainly Spanish and Quechua.

Language	Colcha “K” Municipality	San Pedro de Quemes Municipality
Quechua	7,256	187
Aymara	333	67
Guaraní	1	0
Another native	2	0
Spanish	7,932	721
Foreign	28	3
Only native	878	1
Native and Spanish	6,616	222
Only Spanish	1,319	499

Ref.: obd.descentralizacion.gov.bo

Places of interest

• Cañapa Lake
• Chiguana Lake
• Laguna Hedionda
• Kara Lake
• Pastos Grandes Lake
• Sarapuru volcano
• Sonequera
• Tapaquilcha

See also

• Ch'iyar Quta
• Laqaya
• Puka Mayu