Lake Ballivián itself is of late Quaternary age and may have influenced the spread and development of animals in the Altiplano.
[1] While the present-day Altiplano has an arid-semiarid climate,[1] it was formerly occupied by large lakes that grew and dried out in many phases.
[2] The name Ballivián was coined in 1909,[3] it refers to the Bolivian scholar Don Manuel Vicente Ballivian.
Another terrace at a height of 3,840 metres (12,600 ft) may correspond to a lake level drop of Ballivián[6] or to a prolonged standstill.
[20] The water levels of Escara were much lower than these of Ballivián, indicating that the Ulloma-Capalla sill did exist at that time.
[23] The diversification of Heleobia and Hyalella crustaceans,[24] Orestias fish[25] as well as the speciation of Biomphalaria snails may have also been influenced by the development of Lake Ballivián.