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Geomorphology - Plateau
Plateau
A plateau is an elevated flat land. It is a flat-topped table land standing above the surrounding area.
Plateaus occur on every continent and take up a third of the Earths land. They are one of the four major
landforms, along with mountains, plains, and hills.

Plateaus, like mountains may be young or old. The

Deccan plateau in India is one of the oldest
plateaus. The East African Plateau in Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda and the Western Plateau of
Australia are other examples.
Valleys form when river water cuts through the
plateau. The Columbia Plateau, between the
Cascade and Rocky mountains in the northwestern
United States, is cut through by the Columbia River.
Sometimes, a plateau is so eroded that it is broken
up into smaller raised sections called outliers. Many
outlier plateaus are composed of very old, dense rock formations. Iron ore and coal often are found in
plateau outliers.
The tibet plateau is the highest plateau in the world with a height of 4,000 to 6,000 metres above the mean
sea level.
Plateaus are very useful because they are rich in mineral deposits. As a result, many of the mining areas
in the world are located in the plateau areas.

Plateaus are of great economic significance. Comment with reference to India And World
African plateau is famous for gold and diamond mining. In India huge reserves of iron, coal and
manganese are found in the Chhotanagpur plateau.
In the plateau areas, there may be several waterfalls as the river falls from a great height. In India, the
Hundru Falls in the chhotanagpur plateau on the river Subarnarekha and the Jog Falls in Karnataka are
examples of such waterfalls. These sites are ideal for hydro-electric power generation.
The lava plateaus are rich in black soil that is fertile and good for cultivation. Example: Deccan Traps
(Maharastra has good cotton growing soils)
Many plateaus have scenic spots and are of great attraction to tourists. (Grand Canyon, USA)
(Many more points like these can be added)

Types
There are two kinds of plateaus: dissected plateaus and volcanic plateaus.

A dissected plateau forms as a result of upward movement in the Earths crust. The uplift is caused by the
slow collision of tectonic plates. The Colorado Plateau, in the western United States, Tibetan plateau etc.
are examples.
A volcanic plateau is formed by numerous small
volcanic eruptions that slowly build up over time,
forming a plateau from the resulting lava flows. The
North Island Volcanic Plateau covers most of the
central part of the North Island of New Zealand.
Deccan traps cover the majority of Peninsular India.

Classification
Intermontane plateaus are the highest in the world,
bordered by mountains. The Tibetan Plateau is one
such plateau.
Continental plateaus are bordered on all sides by the
plains or seas, forming away from mountains.
Volcanic plateaus are produced by volcanic activity.
The Columbia Plateau in the northwestern United
States of America is one such plateau.
Dissected plateaus are highly eroded plateaus cut by
rivers and broken by deep narrow valleys.

Major plateaus
Tibetan Plateau
Highest and largest plateau in the world and hence called the "roof of the world".
Formed due to collision of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
The plateau is sufficiently high enough to reverse the Hadley cell convection cycles and to drive the
monsoons of India towards the south.
It covers most of the Autonomous Tibetan Region, Qinghai Province of Western China, and a part of
Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir.
It is surrounded by mountains to the south by the Himalayan Range, to the northeast by the Qilian Range,
and to the west by the Karakoram Range.

The Columbia Plateau

It is bordered by the Cascade Range and Rocky Mountains and divided by the Columbia River.
This plateau has been formed as the result of volcanic eruptions with a consequent coating of basalt lava
(Flood Basalt Plateau).

Colorado Plateau

Largest plateau in America.

It is divided by the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon.
It was formed by the rise of land millions of years ago.
The plateau is known for the groundwater which is under positive pressure and causes the emergence of
springs called Artesian wells.

Deccan Plateau
Deccan Plateau is a large plateau which forms most of the southern part of India.
It is bordered by two mountain ranges, the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats.
The plateau includes the Deccan Traps which is the largest volcanic feature on Earth.
Made of multiple basalt layers or lava flows, the Deccan Traps covers 500,000 square kilometers in area.
The Deccan Traps are known for containing some unique fossils.