Cerro Rico

For a mountain in Mexico's Sierra Madre Oriental, see Cerro Potosí.
Cerro Rico
Cerro Potosí / Sumaq Urqu
View of Cerro Rico from Potosí
Highest point
Elevation4,782 m (15,689 ft)
Coordinates19°37′8″S 65°44′59″W / 19.61889°S 65.74972°W / -19.61889; -65.74972
Geography
Cerro Rico is located in Bolivia
Cerro Rico
Cerro Rico
Location in Bolivia
LocationBolivia, Potosí
Parent rangeAndes

Cerro Rico (Spanish for "Rich Mountain"), Cerro Potosí[1] ("Potosí Mountain") or Sumaq Urqu[2] (Quechua sumaq "beautiful, good, pleasant", urqu "mountain",[3] "beautiful (good or pleasant) mountain"), is a mountain in the Andes near the Bolivian city of Potosí. Cerro Rico, which is popularly conceived of as being "made of" silver ore, is famous for providing vast quantities of silver for the Spanish Empire, most of which was shipped to metropolitan Spain. It is estimated that eighty-five percent of the silver produced in the central Andes during this time came from Cerro Rico.[4]

As a result of mining operations in the mountain, the city of Potosí became one of the largest cities in the New World.[5] It is said that revolutionary hero Simon Bolívar once waved a flag from the top of this monumental mountain in a historic moment that symbolized the founding of a new nation.[citation needed] Just a year later, congress decided to change the colors to yellow-red-green and include a coat of arms featuring the iconic condor, alpaca and Cerro Rico mine.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference igm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference choque was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference laime was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Weatherford, Jack (2010) [1st pub 1988]. Indian givers: how Native Americans transformed the world (2nd ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. p. 6. ISBN 9780307717153. OCLC 656265477.
  5. ^ Dore, Elizabeth (2000). "Environment and Society: Long-Term Trends in Latin American Mining". Environment and History. 6 (1): 1–29. doi:10.3197/096734000129342208. JSTOR 20723118.