The seven highest cities in the world

Like bacteria, human beings too have learned to evolve and flourish in extreme conditions—from the scorching heat of the Sahara to the freezing tundra of Siberia. Even in inhospitable, high mountains where life-supporting oxygen is low, humans have been living for millennia. Some 140 million people live permanently at high altitudes above 8,200 ft or 2,500 m in the Himalayas in Asia, the Andes in South America and the Ethiopian Highlands in Africa, and some actually prosper in sprawling cities. Here are the seven highest cities and settlements in the world, each of which is located above 10,000 ft or 3048 m in elevation.