section_path: Mountains and humans/Mountain societies and economies
section_name: Mountain societies and economies
paragraph_text: Mountain societies and economies
  
  Mountains are generally less preferable for human habitation than lowlands, because of harsh weather and little level ground suitable for agriculture. While 7% of the land area of Earth is above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), only 140 million people live above that altitude and only 20-30 million people above 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) elevation. About half of mountain dwellers live in the Andes, Central Asia, and Africa.
  
  With limited access to infrastructure, only a handful of human communities exist above 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) of elevation. Many are small and have heavily specialized economies, often relying on industries such as agriculture, mining, and tourism. An example of such a specialized town is La Rinconada, Peru, a gold-mining town and the highest elevation human habitation at 5,100 metres (16,700 ft). A counterexample is El Alto, Bolivia, at 4,150 metres (13,620 ft), which has a highly diverse service and manufacturing economy and a population of nearly 1 million.
  
  Traditional mountain societies rely on agriculture, with higher risk of crop failure than at lower elevations. Minerals often occur in mountains, with mining being an important component of the economics of some montane societies. More recently, tourism supports mountain communities, with some intensive development around attractions such as national parks or ski resorts. About 80% of mountain people live below the poverty line.
  
  Most of the world's rivers are fed from mountain sources, with snow acting as a storage mechanism for downstream users. More than half of humanity depends on mountains for water.
  
  In geopolitics mountains are often seen as preferable " natural boundaries " between polities.