Potosí Department in the context of Cerro Rico

Salar de Uyuni (also referred to as "Salar de Tunupa") is the largest salt flat (dry lake bed) in the world, with an area of approximately of 10,582 square kilometres (4,086 sq mi). It is situated in southwestern Bolivia, within the Daniel Campos Province of the Potosí Department, near the crest of the Andes Mountains, at an elevation of 3,656 m (11,995 ft) above sea level.

The Salar was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes that existed around forty thousand years ago but had all evaporated over time. It is now covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness with the average elevation variations within one meter over the entire area of the Salar. The crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine, which is exceptionally rich in lithium. The large area, clear skies, and exceptional flatness of the surface make the Salar ideal for calibrating the altimeters of Earth observation satellites. Following rain, a thin layer of dead calm water transforms the flat into the world's largest mirror, 129 km (80 miles) across.

Ollagüe (Spanish pronunciation: [oˈʎaɣwe]) or Ullawi (Aymara: [uˈʎawi]) is a massive andesite stratovolcano in the Andes on the Bolivia–Chile border, within the Antofagasta Region of Chile and the Potosi Department of Bolivia. Part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, its highest summit is 5,868 metres (19,252 ft) above sea level and features a summit crater that opens to the south. The western rim of the summit crater is formed by a compound of lava domes, the youngest of which features a vigorous fumarole that is visible from afar.

Ollagüe is mostly of Pleistocene age. It started developing more than one million years ago, forming the so-called Vinta Loma and Santa Rosa series mostly of andesitic lava flows. A fault bisects the edifice and two large landslides occurred in relation to it. Later two groups of dacitic lava domes formed, Ch'aska Urqu on the southeastern slope and La Celosa on the northwestern. Another centre named La Poruñita formed at that time on the western foot of the volcano, but it is not clear whether it is part of the main Ollagüe system. Activity at the summit continued during this time, forming the El Azufre sequence.

Chuquisaca (Spanish pronunciation: [tʃukiˈsaka]); Guarani: Chuquisaca; Quechua: Chuqichaka; Aymara: Chuqisaka) is a department of Bolivia located in the center south. It borders on the departments of Cochabamba, Tarija, Potosí, and Santa Cruz. The departmental capital is Sucre, which is also the constitutional capital of Bolivia.

Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world at a nominal 4,067 m (13,343 ft).

Diego Huallpa, an indigenous prospector, is traditionally credited with the discovery of the Cerro Rico in 1545, which led to the founding and rapid growth of Potosí due to its extraordinary silver wealth.

Daniel Campos is a province in the north-western parts of the Bolivian Potosí Department. It is named after the poet Daniel Campos who originated from this area. The capital of the province is Llica.

The Tarapacá Region (Spanish: Región de Tarapacá, pronounced [taɾapaˈka]) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Iquique and Tamarugal. It borders the Chilean Arica y Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro Department and Potosí Department on the east, Chile's Antofagasta Region to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The port city of Iquique is the region's capital.

Much of the region was once part of Peru, having been annexed by Chile under the 1883 Treaty of Ancón at the close of the War of the Pacific. The region was important economically as a site of intense saltpeter mining, before synthetic nitrate manufacturing became possible. A number of abandoned mining towns can still be found in the region.

Tupiza is a city in Potosí Department, Bolivia. It is located at an elevation of about 2850 m. The population is 25,709 (2012 estimate). Tupiza and its environs are characterized by dramatic red escarpments which jut ruggedly skyward from the coarse, gray terrain; green agricultural land adjacent to the nearby Tupiza River provides welcome respite from the otherwise arid, thorny surroundings. The area quebradas are susceptible to flash flood runoff from sudden cloudbursts.

Tupiza is the capital of the Sud Chichas Province within the Potosí Department. It is accessible via bus from Villazón to the south (and thereby both Argentina and Tarija) and Potosí to the north, as well as via the north-south train which served the mining settlements and runs the same route. From Tupiza, various towns in the local mining districts are accessible, as is the Salar de Uyuni.

Ch'aska Urqu (Quechua ch'aska star; tousled, urqu mountain, "star mountain" or "tousled mountain", also spelled Chasca Orkho) is a mountain in the Andes of Bolivia, about 4,100 metres (13,451 ft) high. It is located in the Potosí Department, Nor Lípez Province, Quemes Municipality, Pelcoya Canton. Ch'aska Urqu lies near the border with Chile, southeast of the Ollagüe (Ullawi) volcano and southwest of Wanaku.

Laguna Verde (Spanish for "green lake") is a salt lake in an endorheic basin, in the southwestern Altiplano in Bolivia. It is located in the Sur Lípez Province of the Potosí Department. It is close to the Chilean border, at the foot of the volcano Licancabur.