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Recent Examples of altiplano
Built in the late 19 th century to transport the altiplano’s abundant metals and minerals, the railway line once ran from Bolivia’s de facto capital La Paz to the Pacific port of Antofagasta in Chile.
—
The Editors, Outside, 31 Aug. 2025
Tiwanaku communities first emerged in an altiplano, or high plain, of the Andes called the Titicaca Basin, named after Lake Titicaca.
—Gina Park, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2025
The landscape changed around me; condensing from plains, desert, and mountains into the jungles of Central America, then unfolding in reverse, into the expanse of the altiplano.
—J.r. Patterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Feb. 2022
The world's largest salt flat covers 4,000 square miles of Bolivian altiplano.
—Anne Olivia Bauso, Travel + Leisure, 8 Dec. 2021
In the Chilean altiplano above 12,000 feet, Meiburg spends one of the coldest nights of his life in a sleeping bag on the edge of a salt lagoon, staking out mountain caracaras known for working in groups to flip over heavy flat stones in search of edible creatures.
—Paul Kvinta, Outside Online, 2 Apr. 2021
The terminal at El Alto International Airport may not have the best design or the most punctilious construction standards, but in the freezing predawn of this high plateau—the Andean altiplano—one could weep with gratitude that it is heated.
—Alma Guillermoprieto, The New York Review of Books, 3 Dec. 2020
Which is why Steve Ruff, a planetary scientist at Arizona State University and a key player in the Home Plate analysis, traveled thousands of miles to El Tatio, a series of hot springs in the rare air of Chile’s altiplano.
—Jeffrey Marlow, Discover Magazine, 28 Nov. 2016
The Editors, Outside, 31 Aug. 2025
Tiwanaku communities first emerged in an altiplano, or high plain, of the Andes called the Titicaca Basin, named after Lake Titicaca.
—Gina Park, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2025
The landscape changed around me; condensing from plains, desert, and mountains into the jungles of Central America, then unfolding in reverse, into the expanse of the altiplano.
—J.r. Patterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Feb. 2022
The world's largest salt flat covers 4,000 square miles of Bolivian altiplano.
—Anne Olivia Bauso, Travel + Leisure, 8 Dec. 2021
In the Chilean altiplano above 12,000 feet, Meiburg spends one of the coldest nights of his life in a sleeping bag on the edge of a salt lagoon, staking out mountain caracaras known for working in groups to flip over heavy flat stones in search of edible creatures.
—Paul Kvinta, Outside Online, 2 Apr. 2021
The terminal at El Alto International Airport may not have the best design or the most punctilious construction standards, but in the freezing predawn of this high plateau—the Andean altiplano—one could weep with gratitude that it is heated.
—Alma Guillermoprieto, The New York Review of Books, 3 Dec. 2020
Which is why Steve Ruff, a planetary scientist at Arizona State University and a key player in the Home Plate analysis, traveled thousands of miles to El Tatio, a series of hot springs in the rare air of Chile’s altiplano.
—Jeffrey Marlow, Discover Magazine, 28 Nov. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for altiplano
Noun
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Its first phase started with more than 600 villages along India's 2,100-mile-long border with China, many high up in the forbidding Himalayan plateau.—
Omkar Khandekar,
NPR,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The Aztecs reached the 20-win plateau for a fourth straight season, tying a program record set from 1994-97.—
Bill Center,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Frantic and crying, Manuela called her mother, a middle-aged farmer in the remote central highlands of Ecuador, who, from so far away and not knowing where else to turn, sent a WhatsApp audio message to me.—
Jordan Salama,
New Yorker,
19 Feb. 2026
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For his latest documentary the German filmmaker behind Grizzly Man and Cave of Forgotten Dreams follows conservation biologist and National Geographic Explorer Steve Boyes on his obsessive quest to find the mythical ghost elephants of Lisima in the highlands of Angola.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The 15,400-seat venue has been New Mexico’s home since 1966 and quickly earned the nickname The Pit, in part because it’s built into a mesa in southeast Albuquerque.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
6 Feb. 2026
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Think again, as the California Zephyr, the longest route in America crosses through seven states, carving up Colorado’s canyons, then passing into Utah where the sun ignites mesas into flaming towers of rock.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The tableland was formed by volcanic eruptions about 700,000 years ago, according to the Bishop Chamber of Commerce and Information Center.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacramento Bee,
11 Mar. 2025
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It's located on the Cumberland Plateau — a 450-mile tableland that covers much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, with soaring sandstone walls, large boulders, and dramatic overhangs.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
22 July 2023
Cite this Entry
“Altiplano.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/altiplano. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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