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The topography across the eastern margin of the central Andean plateau north of 18°S (Beni region) bears a strong resemblance to the topography of the southern margin of the Tibetan plateau (Nepal Himalaya), with both regions featuring a steep frontal slope and high peaks at the plateau edge. In contrast, the topography of the eastern margin of the central Andean plateau south of 18°S (Pilcomayo region) tapers toward the foreland more gently and has no line of high peaks at the margin. Both the Himalayan and the Beni regions have been the sites for large amounts of denudation, and in both regions, geologic evidence suggests that erosion has been sufficiently vigorous for the physiographic plateau margin to have retreated toward the plateau interior during the Neogene. We hypothesize that the steep frontal slope and high peaks of the Beni region and Himalayan front largely reflect the high orographic …