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pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

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Plateau

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Plateau (disambiguation).

| This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2010)This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. (May 2017)In geology and earth science, a plateau ( /pləˈtoʊ/, /plæˈtoʊ/ or /ˈplætoʊ/; plural plateaus or plateaux[1][2]), also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain that is raised significantly above the surrounding area, often with one or more sides with steep slopes. Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers.Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment as intermontane, Piedmont, or continental. Plateaus are found on every continent, with Asia hosting the largest and highest: the Tibetan Plateau.Contents

1Formation

1.1Volcanic

1.2Erosive

2Classification

3Large plateaus

3.1Asia

3.2Antarctica

3.3North America

3.4South America

3.5Africa

3.6Oceania

4See also

5References

6External links

Formation[edit]

Plateaux can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers.

Volcanic[edit]

Main article: volcanic plateau

Volcanic plateaus are produced by volcanic activity. The Columbia Plateau in the northwestern United States is an example. They may be formed by upwelling of volcanic magma or extrusion of lava.

The underlining mechanism in forming plateaus from upwelling starts when magma rises from the mantle, causing the ground to swell upward. In this way, large, flat areas of rock are uplifted to form a plateau. For plateaus formed by extrusion, the rock is built up from lava spreading outward from cracks and weak areas in the crust.

Erosive[edit]

Plateaus can also be formed by the erosional processes of glaciers on mountain ranges, leaving them sitting between the mountain ranges. Water can also erode mountains and other landforms down into plateaus. Dissected plateaus are highly eroded plateaus cut by rivers and broken by deep narrow valleys. Computer modeling studies suggest that high plateaus may also be partially a result from the feedback between tectonic deformation and dry climatic conditions created at the lee side of growing orogens.[3]

Classification[edit]

Plateaux are classified according to their surrounding environment.

Intermontane plateaus are the highest in the world, bordered by mountains. The Tibetan Plateau is one such plateau.

Piedmont plateaus are bordered on one side by mountains and on the other by a plain or a sea. The Piedmont Plateau of the Eastern United States between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Coastal Plain is an example.

Continental plateaus are bordered on all sides by plains or oceans, forming away from the mountains. An example of a continental plateau is the Antarctic Plateauor Polar Plateau in East Antarctica.

Large plateaus[edit]

Asia[edit]

The largest and highest plateau in the world is the Tibetan Plateau, sometimes metaphorically described as the "roof of the world", which is still being formed by the collisions of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The Tibetan plateau covers approximately 2,500,000 km² (970,000 sq mi), at about 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea level. The plateau is sufficiently high enough to reverse the Hadley cell convection cycles and to drive the monsoons of India towards the south.

The second-highest plateau is the Deosai Plateau of the Deosai National Park (also known as Deoasai Plains) at an average elevation of 4,114 m (13,497 ft). It is located in the Astore and Skardu districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern Pakistan. Deosai means 'the land of giants'. The park protects an area of 3,000 km²(1,200 sq mi). It is known for its rich flora and fauna of the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe ecoregion. In spring it is covered by sweeps of wildflowers and a wide variety of butterflies. The highest point in Deosai is Deosai Lake, or Sheosar Lake from the Shina language meaning "Blind lake" (Sheo – Blind, Sar – lake) near the Chilim Valley. The lake lies at an elevation of 4,142 m (13,589 ft), one of the highest lakes in the world, and is 2.3 km (1.4 mi) long, 1.8 km (1.1 mi) wide, and 40 m (130 ft) deep on average.

Hardangervidda, the largest plateau in Europe

Bogotá, Colombia is located in a high plateau, over 8,600 ft (2,600 m) high

Some other major plateaus in Asia are: Armenian Highlands (~400,000 km² (150,000 sq mi), elevation 900–2,100 metres (3,000–6,900 ft)), Iranian plateau (~3,700,000 km² (1,400,000 sq mi), elevation 300–1,500 metres (980–4,920 ft)), Anatolian Plateau, Mongolian Plateau (~2,600,000 km² (1,000,000 sq mi), elevation 1,000–1,500 metres (3,300–4,900 ft)), and the Deccan Plateau (~1,900,000 km² (730,000 sq mi), elevation 300–600 metres (980–1,970 ft)).

Antarctica[edit]

Another very large plateau is the icy Antarctic Plateau, which is sometimes referred to as the Polar Plateau, home to the geographic South Pole and the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which covers most of East Antarctica where there are no known mountains but rather 3,000 m (9,800 ft) high of superficial ice and which spreads very slowly toward the surrounding coastline through enormous glaciers. This polar ice cap is so massive that the echolocation sound measurements of ice thickness have shown that large parts of the Antarctic "dry land" surface have been pressed below sea level. Thus, if that same ice cap were suddenly removed, the large areas of the frozen white continent would be flooded by the surrounding Antarctic Ocean or Southern Ocean. On the other hand, were the ice cap melts away too gradually, the surface of the land beneath it would gradually rebound away through isostasy from the center of the Earth and that same land would ultimately rise above sea level.

North America[edit]

A large plateau in North America is the Colorado Plateau, which covers about 337,000 km² (130,000 sq mi) in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.[4]

In northern Arizona and southern Utah the Colorado Plateau is bisected by the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. How this came to be is that over 10 million years ago, a river was already there, though not necessarily on exactly the same course. Then, subterranean geological forces caused the land in that part of North America to gradually rise by about a centimeter per year for millions of years. An unusual balance occurred: the river that would become the Colorado River was able to erode into the crust of the Earth at a nearly equal rate to the uplift of the plateau. Now, millions of years later, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is at an elevation of about 2,450 m (8,040 ft) above sea level, and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about 2,150 m (7,050 ft) above sea level. At its deepest, the Colorado River is about 1,830 m (6,000 ft) below the level of the North Rim.

Another high altitude plateau in North America is the Mexican Plateau. With an area of 601,882 km² (232,388 sq mi) and average height of 1,825 m, it is the home of more than 70 million people.

South America[edit]

Main article: Tepui

A tepui ( /ˈtɛpwi/), or tepuy (Spanish: [teˈpui]), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana.

Tepuis can be considered minute plateaus and tend to be found as isolated entities rather than in connected ranges, which makes them the host of a unique array of endemic plant and animal species. Some of the most outstanding tepuis are Neblina, Autana, Auyantepui and Mount Roraima. They are typically composed of sheer blocks of Precambrian quartz arenite sandstone that rise abruptly from the jungle, giving rise to spectacular natural scenery. Auyantepui is the source of Angel Falls, the world's tallest waterfall.

The Colombian capital city of Bogota sits on an Andean plateau known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense roughly the size of Switzerland. Averaging a height of 2,600 metres above sea level, this northern Andean plateau is situated in the country's eastern range and is divided into three main flat regions; the Bogotá savanna, the valleys of Ubaté and Chiquinquirá, and the valleys of Duitama and Sogamoso.

Road to the ALMA’s Operations Support Facility and then on further to the Chajnantor Plateau at 5000 meters above sea level.[5]

The parallel Sierra of Andes delimit one of the world highest plateaux: the Altiplano, (Spanish for "high plain"), Andean Plateau or Bolivian Plateau. It lies in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet. The bulk of the Altiplano lies within Bolivian and Peruvian territory while its southern parts lie in Chile and Argentina. The Altiplano plateau hosts several cities like Puno, Oruro, Potosí, Cuzco and La Paz, the administrative seat of Bolivia. Northeastern Altiplano is more humid than the Southwestern, the latter of which hosts several salares, or salt flats, due to its aridity. At the Bolivia-Peru border lies Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America.

Africa[edit]

The highest African plateau is the Ethiopian Highlands which cover the central part of Ethiopia. It forms the largest continuous area of its altitude in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1500 m (4,921 ft), while the summits reach heights of up to 4550 m (14,928 ft). It is sometimes called the Roof of Africa due to its height and large area.

Another example is the Highveld which is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above approximately 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions. It is home to some of largest South-African urban agglomerations.

Oceania[edit]

The Western Plateau, part of the Australian Shield, is an ancient craton covering much of the continent's southwest, an area of some 700,000 square kilometres. It has an average elevation of between 305 and 460 m.

The North Island Volcanic Plateau is an area of high land occupying much of the centre of the North Island of New Zealand, with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes, the most notable of which is the country's largest lake, Lake Taupo. The plateau stretches approximately 100 km east to west and 130 km north to south. The majority of the plateau is more than 600 m above sea level.

See also[edit]

Atherton Tableland

Butte

Chapada

Deosai National Park

Mesa

Oceanic plateau for submarine or undersea plateaux

Potrero

Tepuis

Tuya

References[edit]

1. ^ "Definition of plateau". American English Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 26 August 2017.

2. ^ "Definition of plateau". Cambridge English Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 26 August 2017.

3. ^ Garcia-Castellanos, D., 2007. The role of climate during high plateau formation. Insights from numerical experiments. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 257, 372-390, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.02.039 pdf

4. ^ Leighty, Dr. Robert D. (2001). "Colorado Plateau Physiographic Province". Contract Report. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DOD) Information Sciences Office. Retrieved 2007-12-25.

5. ^ "The Road to the Stars". Retrieved 27 July 2015.

External links[edit]

| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plateaus. | Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Plateau.

"Plateau" at scienceclarified.com

nationalgeographic.com

travel-university.org

edu.pe.ca

britannica.com

v

t

e

Earth's landforms

List of landforms
Mountainous | Table Butte Flat Hill Mountain Mountain range Plateau Ridge Valley
Continental plain | Ice sheet Plain Steppe Tundra
Fluvial | Alluvial fan Beach Canyon Cave Channel Cliff Floodplain Lake Levee Meander Oasis Pond Rapids River River delta River mouth River valley Strait Swamp Waterfall
Glacial | Arête Cirque Esker Fjord Glacier Tunnel valley
Oceanic and
coastal landforms | Atoll Bay Cape Channel Coast Continental shelf Coral reef Estuary High island Island Isthmus Lagoon Mid-ocean ridge Oceanic trench Peninsula Seamount
Volcanic | Caldera Crater lake Geyser High island Mid-ocean ridge Lava dome Lava field Lava plateau Submarine volcano Guyot Volcanic crater Volcanic plug Volcano Wall rock
Aeolian | Desert Dry lake Dune Sandhill Tundra
Artificial | Artificial island Artificial reef Bridge Building Canal (man-made)Dam Ditch Land reclamation Levee Polder Quarry Reservoir Road Tunnel
See also: Geographical feature

Categories:

Plateaus

Slope landforms

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# data[].attributes.body
Plateau

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Plateau (disambiguation).

| This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2010)This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. (May 2017)In geology and earth science, a plateau ( /pləˈtoʊ/, /plæˈtoʊ/ or /ˈplætoʊ/; plural plateaus or plateaux[1][2]), also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain that is raised significantly above the surrounding area, often with one or more sides with steep slopes. Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers.Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment as intermontane, Piedmont, or continental. Plateaus are found on every continent, with Asia hosting the largest and highest: the Tibetan Plateau.Contents

1Formation

1.1Volcanic

1.2Erosive

2Classification

3Large plateaus

3.1Asia

3.2Antarctica

3.3North America

3.4South America

3.5Africa

3.6Oceania

4See also

5References

6External links

Formation[edit]

Plateaux can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers.

Volcanic[edit]

Main article: volcanic plateau

Volcanic plateaus are produced by volcanic activity. The Columbia Plateau in the northwestern United States is an example. They may be formed by upwelling of volcanic magma or extrusion of lava.

The underlining mechanism in forming plateaus from upwelling starts when magma rises from the mantle, causing the ground to swell upward. In this way, large, flat areas of rock are uplifted to form a plateau. For plateaus formed by extrusion, the rock is built up from lava spreading outward from cracks and weak areas in the crust.

Erosive[edit]

Plateaus can also be formed by the erosional processes of glaciers on mountain ranges, leaving them sitting between the mountain ranges. Water can also erode mountains and other landforms down into plateaus. Dissected plateaus are highly eroded plateaus cut by rivers and broken by deep narrow valleys. Computer modeling studies suggest that high plateaus may also be partially a result from the feedback between tectonic deformation and dry climatic conditions created at the lee side of growing orogens.[3]

Classification[edit]

Plateaux are classified according to their surrounding environment.

Intermontane plateaus are the highest in the world, bordered by mountains. The Tibetan Plateau is one such plateau.

Piedmont plateaus are bordered on one side by mountains and on the other by a plain or a sea. The Piedmont Plateau of the Eastern United States between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Coastal Plain is an example.

Continental plateaus are bordered on all sides by plains or oceans, forming away from the mountains. An example of a continental plateau is the Antarctic Plateauor Polar Plateau in East Antarctica.

Large plateaus[edit]

Asia[edit]

The largest and highest plateau in the world is the Tibetan Plateau, sometimes metaphorically described as the "roof of the world", which is still being formed by the collisions of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The Tibetan plateau covers approximately 2,500,000 km² (970,000 sq mi), at about 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea level. The plateau is sufficiently high enough to reverse the Hadley cell convection cycles and to drive the monsoons of India towards the south.

The second-highest plateau is the Deosai Plateau of the Deosai National Park (also known as Deoasai Plains) at an average elevation of 4,114 m (13,497 ft). It is located in the Astore and Skardu districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern Pakistan. Deosai means 'the land of giants'. The park protects an area of 3,000 km²(1,200 sq mi). It is known for its rich flora and fauna of the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe ecoregion. In spring it is covered by sweeps of wildflowers and a wide variety of butterflies. The highest point in Deosai is Deosai Lake, or Sheosar Lake from the Shina language meaning "Blind lake" (Sheo – Blind, Sar – lake) near the Chilim Valley. The lake lies at an elevation of 4,142 m (13,589 ft), one of the highest lakes in the world, and is 2.3 km (1.4 mi) long, 1.8 km (1.1 mi) wide, and 40 m (130 ft) deep on average.

Hardangervidda, the largest plateau in Europe

Bogotá, Colombia is located in a high plateau, over 8,600 ft (2,600 m) high

Some other major plateaus in Asia are: Armenian Highlands (~400,000 km² (150,000 sq mi), elevation 900–2,100 metres (3,000–6,900 ft)), Iranian plateau (~3,700,000 km² (1,400,000 sq mi), elevation 300–1,500 metres (980–4,920 ft)), Anatolian Plateau, Mongolian Plateau (~2,600,000 km² (1,000,000 sq mi), elevation 1,000–1,500 metres (3,300–4,900 ft)), and the Deccan Plateau (~1,900,000 km² (730,000 sq mi), elevation 300–600 metres (980–1,970 ft)).

Antarctica[edit]

Another very large plateau is the icy Antarctic Plateau, which is sometimes referred to as the Polar Plateau, home to the geographic South Pole and the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which covers most of East Antarctica where there are no known mountains but rather 3,000 m (9,800 ft) high of superficial ice and which spreads very slowly toward the surrounding coastline through enormous glaciers. This polar ice cap is so massive that the echolocation sound measurements of ice thickness have shown that large parts of the Antarctic "dry land" surface have been pressed below sea level. Thus, if that same ice cap were suddenly removed, the large areas of the frozen white continent would be flooded by the surrounding Antarctic Ocean or Southern Ocean. On the other hand, were the ice cap melts away too gradually, the surface of the land beneath it would gradually rebound away through isostasy from the center of the Earth and that same land would ultimately rise above sea level.

North America[edit]

A large plateau in North America is the Colorado Plateau, which covers about 337,000 km² (130,000 sq mi) in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.[4]

In northern Arizona and southern Utah the Colorado Plateau is bisected by the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. How this came to be is that over 10 million years ago, a river was already there, though not necessarily on exactly the same course. Then, subterranean geological forces caused the land in that part of North America to gradually rise by about a centimeter per year for millions of years. An unusual balance occurred: the river that would become the Colorado River was able to erode into the crust of the Earth at a nearly equal rate to the uplift of the plateau. Now, millions of years later, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is at an elevation of about 2,450 m (8,040 ft) above sea level, and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about 2,150 m (7,050 ft) above sea level. At its deepest, the Colorado River is about 1,830 m (6,000 ft) below the level of the North Rim.

Another high altitude plateau in North America is the Mexican Plateau. With an area of 601,882 km² (232,388 sq mi) and average height of 1,825 m, it is the home of more than 70 million people.

South America[edit]

Main article: Tepui

A tepui ( /ˈtɛpwi/), or tepuy (Spanish: [teˈpui]), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana.

Tepuis can be considered minute plateaus and tend to be found as isolated entities rather than in connected ranges, which makes them the host of a unique array of endemic plant and animal species. Some of the most outstanding tepuis are Neblina, Autana, Auyantepui and Mount Roraima. They are typically composed of sheer blocks of Precambrian quartz arenite sandstone that rise abruptly from the jungle, giving rise to spectacular natural scenery. Auyantepui is the source of Angel Falls, the world's tallest waterfall.

The Colombian capital city of Bogota sits on an Andean plateau known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense roughly the size of Switzerland. Averaging a height of 2,600 metres above sea level, this northern Andean plateau is situated in the country's eastern range and is divided into three main flat regions; the Bogotá savanna, the valleys of Ubaté and Chiquinquirá, and the valleys of Duitama and Sogamoso.

Road to the ALMA’s Operations Support Facility and then on further to the Chajnantor Plateau at 5000 meters above sea level.[5]

The parallel Sierra of Andes delimit one of the world highest plateaux: the Altiplano, (Spanish for "high plain"), Andean Plateau or Bolivian Plateau. It lies in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet. The bulk of the Altiplano lies within Bolivian and Peruvian territory while its southern parts lie in Chile and Argentina. The Altiplano plateau hosts several cities like Puno, Oruro, Potosí, Cuzco and La Paz, the administrative seat of Bolivia. Northeastern Altiplano is more humid than the Southwestern, the latter of which hosts several salares, or salt flats, due to its aridity. At the Bolivia-Peru border lies Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America.

Africa[edit]

The highest African plateau is the Ethiopian Highlands which cover the central part of Ethiopia. It forms the largest continuous area of its altitude in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1500 m (4,921 ft), while the summits reach heights of up to 4550 m (14,928 ft). It is sometimes called the Roof of Africa due to its height and large area.

Another example is the Highveld which is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above approximately 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions. It is home to some of largest South-African urban agglomerations.

Oceania[edit]

The Western Plateau, part of the Australian Shield, is an ancient craton covering much of the continent's southwest, an area of some 700,000 square kilometres. It has an average elevation of between 305 and 460 m.

The North Island Volcanic Plateau is an area of high land occupying much of the centre of the North Island of New Zealand, with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes, the most notable of which is the country's largest lake, Lake Taupo. The plateau stretches approximately 100 km east to west and 130 km north to south. The majority of the plateau is more than 600 m above sea level.

See also[edit]

Atherton Tableland

Butte

Chapada

Deosai National Park

Mesa

Oceanic plateau for submarine or undersea plateaux

Potrero

Tepuis

Tuya

References[edit]

1. ^ "Definition of plateau". American English Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 26 August 2017.

2. ^ "Definition of plateau". Cambridge English Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 26 August 2017.

3. ^ Garcia-Castellanos, D., 2007. The role of climate during high plateau formation. Insights from numerical experiments. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 257, 372-390, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.02.039 pdf

4. ^ Leighty, Dr. Robert D. (2001). "Colorado Plateau Physiographic Province". Contract Report. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DOD) Information Sciences Office. Retrieved 2007-12-25.

5. ^ "The Road to the Stars". Retrieved 27 July 2015.

External links[edit]

| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plateaus. | Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Plateau.

"Plateau" at scienceclarified.com

nationalgeographic.com

travel-university.org

edu.pe.ca

britannica.com

v

t

e

Earth's landforms

List of landforms
Mountainous | Table Butte Flat Hill Mountain Mountain range Plateau Ridge Valley
Continental plain | Ice sheet Plain Steppe Tundra
Fluvial | Alluvial fan Beach Canyon Cave Channel Cliff Floodplain Lake Levee Meander Oasis Pond Rapids River River delta River mouth River valley Strait Swamp Waterfall
Glacial | Arête Cirque Esker Fjord Glacier Tunnel valley
Oceanic and
coastal landforms | Atoll Bay Cape Channel Coast Continental shelf Coral reef Estuary High island Island Isthmus Lagoon Mid-ocean ridge Oceanic trench Peninsula Seamount
Volcanic | Caldera Crater lake Geyser High island Mid-ocean ridge Lava dome Lava field Lava plateau Submarine volcano Guyot Volcanic crater Volcanic plug Volcano Wall rock
Aeolian | Desert Dry lake Dune Sandhill Tundra
Artificial | Artificial island Artificial reef Bridge Building Canal (man-made)Dam Ditch Land reclamation Levee Polder Quarry Reservoir Road Tunnel
See also: Geographical feature

Categories:

Plateaus

Slope landforms

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# data[].attributes.body
Plateau

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Plateau (disambiguation).

| This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2010)This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. (May 2017)In geology and earth science, a plateau ( /pləˈtoʊ/, /plæˈtoʊ/ or /ˈplætoʊ/; plural plateaus or plateaux[1][2]), also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain that is raised significantly above the surrounding area, often with one or more sides with steep slopes. Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers.Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment as intermontane, Piedmont, or continental. Plateaus are found on every continent, with Asia hosting the largest and highest: the Tibetan Plateau.Contents

1Formation

1.1Volcanic

1.2Erosive

2Classification

3Large plateaus

3.1Asia

3.2Antarctica

3.3North America

3.4South America

3.5Africa

3.6Oceania

4See also

5References

6External links

Formation[edit]

Plateaux can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers.

Volcanic[edit]

Main article: volcanic plateau

Volcanic plateaus are produced by volcanic activity. The Columbia Plateau in the northwestern United States is an example. They may be formed by upwelling of volcanic magma or extrusion of lava.

The underlining mechanism in forming plateaus from upwelling starts when magma rises from the mantle, causing the ground to swell upward. In this way, large, flat areas of rock are uplifted to form a plateau. For plateaus formed by extrusion, the rock is built up from lava spreading outward from cracks and weak areas in the crust.

Erosive[edit]

Plateaus can also be formed by the erosional processes of glaciers on mountain ranges, leaving them sitting between the mountain ranges. Water can also erode mountains and other landforms down into plateaus. Dissected plateaus are highly eroded plateaus cut by rivers and broken by deep narrow valleys. Computer modeling studies suggest that high plateaus may also be partially a result from the feedback between tectonic deformation and dry climatic conditions created at the lee side of growing orogens.[3]

Classification[edit]

Plateaux are classified according to their surrounding environment.

Intermontane plateaus are the highest in the world, bordered by mountains. The Tibetan Plateau is one such plateau.

Piedmont plateaus are bordered on one side by mountains and on the other by a plain or a sea. The Piedmont Plateau of the Eastern United States between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Coastal Plain is an example.

Continental plateaus are bordered on all sides by plains or oceans, forming away from the mountains. An example of a continental plateau is the Antarctic Plateauor Polar Plateau in East Antarctica.

Large plateaus[edit]

Asia[edit]

The largest and highest plateau in the world is the Tibetan Plateau, sometimes metaphorically described as the "roof of the world", which is still being formed by the collisions of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The Tibetan plateau covers approximately 2,500,000 km² (970,000 sq mi), at about 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea level. The plateau is sufficiently high enough to reverse the Hadley cell convection cycles and to drive the monsoons of India towards the south.

The second-highest plateau is the Deosai Plateau of the Deosai National Park (also known as Deoasai Plains) at an average elevation of 4,114 m (13,497 ft). It is located in the Astore and Skardu districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern Pakistan. Deosai means 'the land of giants'. The park protects an area of 3,000 km²(1,200 sq mi). It is known for its rich flora and fauna of the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe ecoregion. In spring it is covered by sweeps of wildflowers and a wide variety of butterflies. The highest point in Deosai is Deosai Lake, or Sheosar Lake from the Shina language meaning "Blind lake" (Sheo – Blind, Sar – lake) near the Chilim Valley. The lake lies at an elevation of 4,142 m (13,589 ft), one of the highest lakes in the world, and is 2.3 km (1.4 mi) long, 1.8 km (1.1 mi) wide, and 40 m (130 ft) deep on average.

Hardangervidda, the largest plateau in Europe

Bogotá, Colombia is located in a high plateau, over 8,600 ft (2,600 m) high

Some other major plateaus in Asia are: Armenian Highlands (~400,000 km² (150,000 sq mi), elevation 900–2,100 metres (3,000–6,900 ft)), Iranian plateau (~3,700,000 km² (1,400,000 sq mi), elevation 300–1,500 metres (980–4,920 ft)), Anatolian Plateau, Mongolian Plateau (~2,600,000 km² (1,000,000 sq mi), elevation 1,000–1,500 metres (3,300–4,900 ft)), and the Deccan Plateau (~1,900,000 km² (730,000 sq mi), elevation 300–600 metres (980–1,970 ft)).

Antarctica[edit]

Another very large plateau is the icy Antarctic Plateau, which is sometimes referred to as the Polar Plateau, home to the geographic South Pole and the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which covers most of East Antarctica where there are no known mountains but rather 3,000 m (9,800 ft) high of superficial ice and which spreads very slowly toward the surrounding coastline through enormous glaciers. This polar ice cap is so massive that the echolocation sound measurements of ice thickness have shown that large parts of the Antarctic "dry land" surface have been pressed below sea level. Thus, if that same ice cap were suddenly removed, the large areas of the frozen white continent would be flooded by the surrounding Antarctic Ocean or Southern Ocean. On the other hand, were the ice cap melts away too gradually, the surface of the land beneath it would gradually rebound away through isostasy from the center of the Earth and that same land would ultimately rise above sea level.

North America[edit]

A large plateau in North America is the Colorado Plateau, which covers about 337,000 km² (130,000 sq mi) in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.[4]

In northern Arizona and southern Utah the Colorado Plateau is bisected by the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. How this came to be is that over 10 million years ago, a river was already there, though not necessarily on exactly the same course. Then, subterranean geological forces caused the land in that part of North America to gradually rise by about a centimeter per year for millions of years. An unusual balance occurred: the river that would become the Colorado River was able to erode into the crust of the Earth at a nearly equal rate to the uplift of the plateau. Now, millions of years later, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is at an elevation of about 2,450 m (8,040 ft) above sea level, and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about 2,150 m (7,050 ft) above sea level. At its deepest, the Colorado River is about 1,830 m (6,000 ft) below the level of the North Rim.

Another high altitude plateau in North America is the Mexican Plateau. With an area of 601,882 km² (232,388 sq mi) and average height of 1,825 m, it is the home of more than 70 million people.

South America[edit]

Main article: Tepui

A tepui ( /ˈtɛpwi/), or tepuy (Spanish: [teˈpui]), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana.

Tepuis can be considered minute plateaus and tend to be found as isolated entities rather than in connected ranges, which makes them the host of a unique array of endemic plant and animal species. Some of the most outstanding tepuis are Neblina, Autana, Auyantepui and Mount Roraima. They are typically composed of sheer blocks of Precambrian quartz arenite sandstone that rise abruptly from the jungle, giving rise to spectacular natural scenery. Auyantepui is the source of Angel Falls, the world's tallest waterfall.

The Colombian capital city of Bogota sits on an Andean plateau known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense roughly the size of Switzerland. Averaging a height of 2,600 metres above sea level, this northern Andean plateau is situated in the country's eastern range and is divided into three main flat regions; the Bogotá savanna, the valleys of Ubaté and Chiquinquirá, and the valleys of Duitama and Sogamoso.

Road to the ALMA’s Operations Support Facility and then on further to the Chajnantor Plateau at 5000 meters above sea level.[5]

The parallel Sierra of Andes delimit one of the world highest plateaux: the Altiplano, (Spanish for "high plain"), Andean Plateau or Bolivian Plateau. It lies in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet. The bulk of the Altiplano lies within Bolivian and Peruvian territory while its southern parts lie in Chile and Argentina. The Altiplano plateau hosts several cities like Puno, Oruro, Potosí, Cuzco and La Paz, the administrative seat of Bolivia. Northeastern Altiplano is more humid than the Southwestern, the latter of which hosts several salares, or salt flats, due to its aridity. At the Bolivia-Peru border lies Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America.

Africa[edit]

The highest African plateau is the Ethiopian Highlands which cover the central part of Ethiopia. It forms the largest continuous area of its altitude in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1500 m (4,921 ft), while the summits reach heights of up to 4550 m (14,928 ft). It is sometimes called the Roof of Africa due to its height and large area.

Another example is the Highveld which is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above approximately 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions. It is home to some of largest South-African urban agglomerations.

Oceania[edit]

The Western Plateau, part of the Australian Shield, is an ancient craton covering much of the continent's southwest, an area of some 700,000 square kilometres. It has an average elevation of between 305 and 460 m.

The North Island Volcanic Plateau is an area of high land occupying much of the centre of the North Island of New Zealand, with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes, the most notable of which is the country's largest lake, Lake Taupo. The plateau stretches approximately 100 km east to west and 130 km north to south. The majority of the plateau is more than 600 m above sea level.

See also[edit]

Atherton Tableland

Butte

Chapada

Deosai National Park

Mesa

Oceanic plateau for submarine or undersea plateaux

Potrero

Tepuis

Tuya

References[edit]

1. ^ "Definition of plateau". American English Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 26 August 2017.

2. ^ "Definition of plateau". Cambridge English Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 26 August 2017.

3. ^ Garcia-Castellanos, D., 2007. The role of climate during high plateau formation. Insights from numerical experiments. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 257, 372-390, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.02.039 pdf

4. ^ Leighty, Dr. Robert D. (2001). "Colorado Plateau Physiographic Province". Contract Report. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DOD) Information Sciences Office. Retrieved 2007-12-25.

5. ^ "The Road to the Stars". Retrieved 27 July 2015.

External links[edit]

| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plateaus. | Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Plateau.

"Plateau" at scienceclarified.com

nationalgeographic.com

travel-university.org

edu.pe.ca

britannica.com

v

t

e

Earth's landforms

List of landforms
Mountainous | Table Butte Flat Hill Mountain Mountain range Plateau Ridge Valley
Continental plain | Ice sheet Plain Steppe Tundra
Fluvial | Alluvial fan Beach Canyon Cave Channel Cliff Floodplain Lake Levee Meander Oasis Pond Rapids River River delta River mouth River valley Strait Swamp Waterfall
Glacial | Arête Cirque Esker Fjord Glacier Tunnel valley
Oceanic and
coastal landforms | Atoll Bay Cape Channel Coast Continental shelf Coral reef Estuary High island Island Isthmus Lagoon Mid-ocean ridge Oceanic trench Peninsula Seamount
Volcanic | Caldera Crater lake Geyser High island Mid-ocean ridge Lava dome Lava field Lava plateau Submarine volcano Guyot Volcanic crater Volcanic plug Volcano Wall rock
Aeolian | Desert Dry lake Dune Sandhill Tundra
Artificial | Artificial island Artificial reef Bridge Building Canal (man-made)Dam Ditch Land reclamation Levee Polder Quarry Reservoir Road Tunnel
See also: Geographical feature

Categories:

Plateaus

Slope landforms

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# data[].attributes.body
The word lake comes from Middle English lake ("lake, pond, waterway"), from Old English lacu ("pond, pool, stream"), from Proto-Germanic*lakō ("pond, ditch, slow moving stream"), from the Proto-Indo-European root *leǵ- ("to leak, drain"). Cognates include Dutch laak ("lake, pond, ditch"), Middle Low German lāke ("water pooled in a riverbed, puddle") as in: de:Moorlake, de:Wolfslake, de:Butterlake, German Lache("pool, puddle"), and Icelandic lækur ("slow flowing stream"). Also related are the English words leak and leach.

There is considerable uncertainty about defining the difference between lakes and ponds, and no current internationally accepted definition of either term across scientific disciplines or political boundaries exists.[4] For example, limnologists have defined lakes as water bodies which are simply a larger version of a pond, which can have wave action on the shoreline or where wind-induced turbulence plays a major role in mixing the water column. None of these definitions completely excludes ponds and all are difficult to measure. For this reason, simple size-based definitions are increasingly used to separate ponds and lakes. One definition of lake is a body of water of 2 hectares (5 acres) or more in area;[5]:331[6] however, others[who?] have defined lakes as waterbodies of 5 hectares (12 acres) and above,[citation needed] or 8 hectares (20 acres) and above [7] (see also the definition of "pond"). Charles Elton, one of the founders of ecology, regarded lakes as waterbodies of 40 hectares (99 acres) or more.[8] The term lake is also used to describe a feature such as Lake Eyre, which is a dry basin most of the time but may become filled under seasonal conditions of heavy rainfall. In common usage, many lakes bear names ending with the word pond, and a lesser number of names ending with lake are in quasi-technical fact, ponds. One textbook illustrates this point with the following: "In Newfoundland, for example, almost every lake is called a pond, whereas in Wisconsin, almost every pond is called a lake."[9]

# data[].attributes.body
Types of rivers:
-The hydrologic cycle
- Permanent rivers
-Periodic rivers

# data[].attributes.body
Plain is a large area of Space where everything is all the material is flat

# data[].attributes.body
a gorge or ravine, usually formed by the down cutting down of a river in a dry area where there is a unsufficient

# data[].attributes.body
In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain that is raised significantly above the surrounding

# data[].attributes.headline
Structural plains are relatively undisturbed horizontal surfaces of the Earth. They are structurally depressed areas of the world that make up some of the most extensive natural lowlands on the Earth's surface.

# data[].attributes.subject
Structural plains are relatively undisturbed horizontal surfaces of the Earth. They are structurally depressed areas of the world that make up some of the most extensive natural lowlands on the Earth's surface.

# data[].attributes.body
the different type of plains

# data[].attributes.body
In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain that is raised significantly above the surrounding

# data[].attributes.body
Structural plains are relatively undisturbed horizontal surfaces of the Earth. They are structurally depressed areas of the world that make up some of the most extensive natural lowlands on the Earth's surface.[6]

Erosional plains have been leveled by various agents of denudation such as running water, rivers, wind and glacier which wear out the rugged surface and smoothens them. Plain resulting from the action of these agents of denudation are called peneplains (almost plain) while plains formed from wind action are called pediplains.[7]

Depositional plains formed by the deposition of materials brought by various agents of transportation such as rivers, wind, waves, and glaciers. Their fertility and economic relevance depend greatly on the types of sediments that are laid down.

# data[].attributes.body
a deep cleft or resulting from weathering and erosion.

# data[].attributes.body
Mountains is a large natural height that is a rise above the normal land elevation.

# data[].attributes.body
Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers. In some parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them.

Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for industrial or agricultural use, for hydro-electric power generation or domestic water supply, or for aesthetic or recreational purposes or even for other activities.

# data[].attributes.body
A large natural elevation of the earth's surface rising abruptly from the surrounding level; a large steep hill.
The tallest mountain in the world is  Mount Everest standing at 8,848 m

# data[].attributes.body
Plain is a flat sweeping

# data[].attributes.body
a large natural elevation of the earth's surface rising abruptly from the surrounding level

# data[].attributes.body
natural elevation of the earth

# data[].attributes.body
1. a deep gorge, typically one with a river flowing through it, as found in North America.

# data[].attributes.body
A desert is a biome with very little rainfall. Deserts cover about 20% of the earth. There are 4 major types of deserts; hot and dry, semiarid, coastal and cold.

# data[].attributes.body
Rivers are made from the mountains and then the water goes through the rocks and makes rivers.

# data[].attributes.body
low area in between hills often with a river running through it.famous valleys such as clare valley, huan valley and much  more.
valleys are usually v-shaped

# data[].attributes.body
a plain is a flat, sweeping landmass that generally does not change much in elevation
Usually occur at the bottoms of valleys or at the door steps of mountains
An example is the Nullabor plain in Australia

# data[].attributes.body
A large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another river.
A large quantity of a flowing substance.
A natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels.
The longest river in the world is the Amazon River - it is 6,992 km long.

# data[].attributes.body
A very large expanse of sea. The oceans are divided geographically. Ocean water was a gas until earths temperature reached 212 degrees Fahrenheit. it rained until the basins filled with water which are now our oceans

# data[].attributes.body
a piece of land surrounded by water

# data[].attributes.body
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river.

# data[].attributes.body
A canyon or gorge is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic timescales

# data[].attributes.body
A landmass that is flat and covers many kilometres. It does not change much in elevation within a common area. There are different types of plains such as prairies, grasslands and steppes.

# data[].attributes.body
A lake is an area of variable size filled with water

# data[].attributes.body
A strip of land between oceans on either side.

# data[].attributes.body
a plateau is a high plain that consists of mainly flat surfaces and is raised above other

# data[].attributes.body
A lake is an area of variable size filled with water, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land, apart from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake.

# data[].attributes.body
a large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another river.