The highest mountain in the world. Highland countries and cities

Altitude (the so-called absolute altitude) is the height of the Earth's surface point above sea level. This characteristic helps to accurately determine the position of the object relative to the general geodetic mark. The most high-altitude capitals of the world are on different continents, in different regions, but the magnitude of the altitude of the city center allows objectively to rank them according to the rank.

Quito (Ecuador) - 2850 m above sea level

The primacy of the Ecuadorian capital is sometimes challenged by the actual (but not constitutional) capital of Bolivia, La Paz, a city located at an altitude of 3,640 m. Formally, San Francisco de Quito is the most highly placed official capital in the world.

The center of the Ecuadorian capital is not only the highest mountain, but also one of the most valuable in the architectural and historical sense. Together with Polish Krakow, it was first declared in 1978 an object of cultural heritage of world significance. The UNESCO Commission assessed the good preservation of buildings that have undergone minor changes since the city was founded in 1556.

Today, in Quito, an area of 372 km ² , 2.67 million people live - this is the second largest city in the country, the present political, cultural and economic center of Ecuador. It plays a major role in the life of the whole continent - in the vicinity of Quito is the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations.

Sucre (Bolivia) - 2810 m

The official (constitutional) main city of Bolivia is also rightfully included in the most high-mountainous capitals of the world. Although only the Supreme Court remained of the main government bodies in Sucre, it is one of the most important cities in the country. The sixth in population (about 300 thousand), it is the center of the department of Chuquisaca.

Founded in 1538 under the name Ciudad de la Plata de la Nueva Toledo (silver city of New Toledo), Sucre has a turbulent historical past and changed its name several times. The present name he received in 1839 in honor of the Bolivian revolutionary leader Antonio José de Sucre, who became the first president of the country.

Like all high-mountainous cities, Sucre is located in a very picturesque place. Together with well-preserved architectural monuments, this makes it especially attractive for tourists around the world.

Thimphu (Bhutan) - 2648 m

The capital of the kingdom of Bhutan, located between India and China, is much higher than Kathmandu (Nepal) - the capital of another state lost among the highest mountains of the planet - the Himalayas. Half of the entire country (384,000 km ² ) is located above 3000 m, the fifth part of it is covered with eternal snows and glaciers.

Thimphu became the capital of the kingdom from 1952, when the main legislative and executive bodies of Bhutan were placed in a monastery built in the 13th century. Today, here is the residence of the current official head of state - King Jigme Singie Wangchuk and religious leader, called Je Khempo. In the capital city of the kingdom there are about 100 000 inhabitants.

Bogota (Colombia) - 2625 m

Bogota is a real metropolis. This is one of the largest cities in the world's most high-mountainous capitals and one of the continental leaders of South America in terms of area and population. In 2015, there were about 8.5 million people with a constant increase in the number of newcomers.

The city is located on the plain, which is part of the huge high plateau Altiplano, located among the Cordillera. This area is considered seismic risk. Although Bogota is almost at zero latitude, at the equator, because of the high altitude there is no heat. In the vicinity a special natural zone was formed, a kind of savanna favorable for agriculture.

The Colombian capital was founded in 1536 by the famous Spanish conquistador Jimenez de Quesada. It was the center of the liberation movement, survived many internal conflicts. Today, Bogota is a powerful economic and cultural center of the country and the whole continent, which has a high potential. Harmonious development of infrastructure is the main task that all major capitals of the world face. Until recently, the list of city problems was led by high crime, but due to the resolute actions of the authorities, it lost its sharpness.

The city is characterized by a typical for the entire South America division into several regions, differing socio-economic status of the population. Inhabitants of wealthy neighborhoods pay additional taxes to support slum dwellers.

Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) - 2355 m

The city, whose name from the language of one of the nationalities - Amhara - is translated as a "new flower", plays an important role as the capital of the states of the African Union. The population has a growth rate of about 4% per year and is about 3.5 million people.

The Ethiopian capital is located at the foot of Mount Entoto, from the mark of 2326 m in the area of Bolle International Airport and up to a height of over 3000 m in the northern part. The combination of highlands and the equatorial zone makes the climate comfortable compared to the plains of Africa.

Founded Addis Ababa in 1886 by Emperor Menelik II in the place that his wife Taita chose. It was attracted by springs of mineral water, which beat at the foot of the mountain. Today the city is becoming the resort capital of Africa, where hotels, shopping and entertainment centers of high level are being built.

Asmera (Eritrea) - 2325 m

Two highland countries, located on a single highland - Ethiopia and Eritrea, for a long time formed a single federation. When the Ethiopian authorities proposed in 1961 that Eritrea be made one of its provinces, the struggle for its independence began.

In 1993, a new state appeared on the African continent, and the list, where the most high-mountainous capitals of the world are mentioned, was added to Asmara. The population of the city is 650,000 inhabitants.

Eritrea was formed on the basis of territories that were Italian colonies in Africa. Today's appearance of the capital of the country was largely formed in the 30s of the XX century, when Mussolini wanted to make Asmera a bulwark of the future colonial empire. Asmera was called "small Rome", and Italian names and traditions are still preserved in the city.

Sana'a (Yemen) - 2250 yards

The city with a population of about 2 million people is one of the oldest cities in the world. According to legend, it was founded by Sim, the son of Noah. The city has preserved the real pearls of Arab architecture, having a thousand-year history. In 1986 the city was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. The preservation of historical monuments is threatened due to the location of Sanaa in a place of strategic importance for the entire region. The city often became the arena of armed conflicts of different scale.

Attractive for settling these places makes a rare version of the desert climate. The high location of the city contributes to the fact that it is more moderate than in many places in the Arabian Peninsula. Here, both excessive cold and tiring heat are rare.

Mexico City (Mexico) - 2240 m

The valley of Mexico City, surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, reaching a height of 5000 m, is located on a high plateau, part of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. On the site of the present agglomeration was a huge lake of Texcoco. In the central part, on the island, in 1325 the Aztecs laid the city of Tenochtitlan, today's Mexico City.

Built on the site of what was a lake, the giant metropolis inherited the problems caused by this: the lack of drainage for water flowing down from the mountains, and loose soil, which does not give a reliable basis for buildings. Combating water and air pollution, preventing sedimentation, resisting seismic activity - have always been important areas of activity of city authorities in Mexico City.

In the world there is no human settlement of this scale, located at such an altitude. The area of 1485 km ^{2 is} home to about 8.9 million people. If we are talking about Greater Mexico, to which the environment connected with Mexico City is added economically and technologically, then we mean the largest agglomeration in the western hemisphere, in which there are about 21 million inhabitants.

Mexico is included in the most influential capitals of the world. The list of the world's richest cities, where it entered under the eighth number, speaks of its political, economic and cultural significance for the whole of civilization.

Cities with a high position

Surprisingly, there are capitals located below the level of the world's oceans: the capital of Azerbaijan Baku is 28 meters below it. And among those that can be attributed to the highlands - Nairobi (Kenya) - 1795 m, Kabul (Afghanistan) - 1790 m, Windhoek (Namibia 1727 m, Maseru (Lesotho) - 1673 m, Kigali (Rwanda) - 1567 m, Guatemala (Guatemala) - 1529 m, Harare (Zimbabwe) - 1483 m, Kathmandu (Nepal) - 1400 m.