COCHABAMBA, a central department of Bolivia, occupy ing a series of fertile valleys on the eastern slope of the great Bolivian plateau, bounded N. by the department of El Beni, E. by Santa Cruz, S. by Chuquisaca and Potosi, and W. by Potosi, Oruro and La Paz. Area, 25,288 sq.m.; pop. (1929) estimated Its average elevation is about 8,000ft., and its mean monthly temperature ranges from 50° to 71° F, making it one of the most agreeable climatic regions in South America. The rainfall is moderate (18in. per year, coming almost entirely from November to March) and the seasons are marked by rainfall rather than by temperature. Cochabamba is essentially an agri cultural department, although its mineral resources are good and include deposits of gold, silver, copper and tungsten. Its temperate climate favours the production of wheat, Indian corn, barley and potatoes, and most of the fruits and vegetables of the temperate zone. Coca, cacao, tobacco and most of the fruits and vegetables of the tropics are also produced. Its forest products include rubber and cinchona. Lack of transportation facilities, however, has been an insuperable obstacle to the development of any industry beyond local needs except those of cinchona and rubber. The population is chiefly of the Indian and mestizo types, educa tion is in a backward state, and there are few manufactures other than those of the domestic stage, the natives making many articles of wearing apparel and daily use in their own homes. Rough highways and mule-paths are the usual means of communication, but a railway from Cochabamba (city) to Oruro, 132m., now brings this isolated region into touch with the commercial world. The capital is Cochabamba; other important towns are Punata, Tarata, Totora, Mizque and Sacaba.