• Plateau in the world- The Plateaus are built over millions of years as pieces of Earth’s crust smash into each other, melt, and gurgle back toward the surface.
• The term Plateau can be defined as the upland which has at least one side of a very steep slope standing well above the neighboring surface and whose upper part is extensively flat.
• The most significant deciding factor of the Plateau is the flatness of its top rather than the height.

List of Major Plateaus of the World

Colorado Plateau:

• Includes Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.
• Divided by the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon.
• Largest plateau in America, covering an area of 337,000km2.
• Highest elevation is about 2,450m above sea level.
• Intermontane plateau with mesas and buttes found at many places.
• Known for the emergence of Artesian wells.

Columbia Plateau:

• Located in parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
• Surrounded by the Cascade Range and Rocky Mountains.
• Coated in basalt lava from volcanic eruptions (Flood Basalt Plateau).

Appalachian Plateau:

• Series of rugged dissected plateaus located on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains.
• Northwestern part of the Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New York to Alabama.

Piedmont Plateau:

• Plateau region located in the Eastern United States.
• Situated between the Atlantic coastal plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New York to central Alabama.
• Consists of the Gettysburg-Newark Lowlands, the Piedmont Upland, and the Piedmont Lowlands sections.

Laurentian Plateau:

• Canadian Shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks that forms the ancient geologic core of the North American continent.
• Fine quality of iron-ore is found here.

Central Mexican Plateau:

• Also known as the Mexican Altiplano.
• Large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico.
• Extends from the United States border in the north to the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in the south.
• Bounded by the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental to the west and east, respectively.

Altiplano Plateau:

• Located in west-central South America between two ranges of the Andes Mountain
• Major area for tin reserves
• Capital of Bolivia, La Paz and Sucre, are situated on this plateau

Guyana Highland:

• Part of the Guyana Shield in northeast South America
• One of the oldest land surfaces in the world
• A 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian geological formation

Brazilian Highland:

• Covers most of the eastern, southern, and central portions of Brazil
• Divided into three plateaus: Atlantic, Southern, and Central
• Once almost completely covered by the Atlantic Rainforest

Patagonian Highland:

• Located in the southern part of Argentina
• A rain shadow desert plateau
• Important region for sheep rearing

Central Massif:

• Located in the middle of southern France
• Consists of mountains and plateaus
• Famous for grapes cultivation

Mesata:

• One of the basic geographical units of the Iberian Peninsula
• Consists of a plateau covering a large part of the latter’s interior

Transylvanian Plateau:

• Plateau in central Romania
• Almost entirely surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains
• Includes the Transylvanian Plain

Hardangervidda Plateau:

• One of the largest plateaus in Europe
• Located in western Norway, about 200 km west of Oslo
• Northwest of the plateau is bordered by one of the largest glaciers of Norway

Central Russian Upland:

• Upland area of the East European Plain
• Undulating plateau with an average elevation of 230–250 m
• Highest peak is measured at 293 m
• Southeastern portion is known as the Kalach Upland

Tibetan Plateau:

• Highest, largest, and most famous plateau in the world
• Located in South-Central Asia, stretches through Tibet, China, and India
• Covers an area of 2,500,000 km2 with a flat valley floor at about 16,000 feet above sea level
• Formed due to collision of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates
• Surrounded by mountains to the south (Himalayan Range), northeast (Kunlun Range), and west (Karakoram Range)

Mongolian Plateau:

• Part of the Central Asian Plateau
• Approximately 3,200,000 square kilometers in area
• Bounded by the Greater Hinggan Mountains in the east, Yin Mountains to the south, Altai Mountains to the west, and Sayan and Khentii mountains to the north
• Includes the Gobi Desert and dry steppe regions
• Elevation of roughly 1,000 to 1,500 meters, with lowest point in Hulunbuir and highest point in Altai

Central Siberian Plateau:

• Occupies great part of central Siberia between Yenisei and Lena rivers
• Located in the Siberian Platform and extends over an area of 3,500,000 km2
• Bounded to the south by Altai Mountains, Salair Ridge, Kuznetsk Alatau, Eastern and Western Sayan Mountains, and other mountains of Tuva
• Bounded to the north by North Siberian Lowland and to the east by Central Yakutian Lowland and Lena Plateau
• Surface characterized by alternation of wide plateaus and ridges, covering one-third of Siberia

Deccan Plateau:

• Large plateau in southern India
• Bordered by Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats mountain ranges
• Includes Deccan Traps, the largest volcanic feature on Earth
• Deccan Traps cover an area of 500,000 square kilometers and contain unique fossils
• Rich in minerals including mica, iron ore, diamonds, gold, and other metals

Yunnan Plateau:

• Highland region in southwest China
• Primarily located in the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou

Shan Plateau:

• Crystalline massif in eastern Myanmar (Burma)
• Part of the Indo-Malayan mountain system
• Crossed by the Salween River in the east and bordered by the Irrawaddy River in the west
• Average elevation between 2,500 and 4,000 feet (750 and 1,200 m)
• Seamed and ribbed by mountain ranges

Arabian Plateau:

• Oligocene sub-horizontal regional planation surface in the western half of the Arabian Peninsula
• Required a prominent uplift since the Late Eocene to reach its present elevation of about 1 km

Anatolian Plateau:

• Intermontane plateau in Turkey
• Lies between Pontiac and Taurus Mountain ranges
• Tigris-Euphrates Rivers flow through the plateau
• Precious wool producing Angora goats found here

Ethiopian Plateau:

• Rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in northeast Africa
• Largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent
• Little of its surface falls below 1,500 m, while the summits reach heights of up to 4,550 m

East African Plateau:

• Large plateau in eastern part of central Africa in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania
• Elevation mostly between 1000 and 1500 meters
• Subdivided into zones consisting of mountain ranges, tablelands, and rift valleys

Table Mountain:

• Prominent landform in Cape Town, South Africa
• Located at the northern end of the Sandstone Mountain Range
• Level plateau measuring 3 km from side to side

Ahaggar Plateau:

• Large plateau in the north center of the Sahara, North Africa
• Height above 3,000 feet (900 m), culminating in Mount Tahat (9,573 feet [2,918 m]) in southeastern Algeria

Katanga Plateau:

• Farming and ranching region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Famous for copper production
• Other minerals mined here include cobalt, uranium, zinc, silver, gold, and tin.

Western Plateau:

• Australia’s largest drainage division.
• Covers two thirds of the continent.
• Composed of remains of the ancient rock shield of Gondwana.
• Mostly flat sandy or stony desert with sparse shrub or grass cover.

Kimberley Plateau:

• Located in northern Western Australia.
• Extends from northwest Indian Ocean coast to the Fitzroy River and east to the Ord River.
• Made of volcanic eruption.
• Rich in minerals like iron, gold, lead, zinc, silver, and diamonds.
• Used for mining and cattle rearing.

Atherton Tableland:

• Located in Queensland, Australia.
• Covers an area of 32,000km2 with elevation of 500 to 1,280m above sea level.

Antarctic Plateau:

• Located in Central Antarctica, crossing parts of the South Pole and Amundsen Scott Station.
• Covers an area of 1,000km2 and has its highest elevation of about 3,000m above sea level.

Potohar Plateau:

• Located in northeastern Pakistan.
• Bordered by Jehlum River to the east, Indus River to the west, Margalla Hills and Kala Chitta Range to the north, and Salt Range to the south.
• Encompasses four districts: Jehlum, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, and Attock.

Mascarene Plateau:

• An oceanic plateau in the Indian Ocean between Seychelles and Mauritius Islands.

Loess Plateau:

• Located in China.
• Soil composed of fine particles brought by wind.
• Highly productive for crop growth along the Yellow River.