In geology and earth science, a plateau (alternatively spelt in a false French spelling plâteau, the real spelling in French being plateau) is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat open country if the uplift was recent in geologic history. Plateaus (or plâteaux), like mesas and buttes, are formed when land has been uplifted by tectonic activity and then eroded by wind or water. Flat-topped, sheer-sided plateaus, like the tepuis of Guiana, are formed when a section of land is uplifted that is topped with a layer of particularly resistant rock, and underlain by softer rock. Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. ... The term highland is used in geography for any elevated mountainous plateau. ... The geologic timescale is used by geologists and other scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events that have occured during the history of the Earth. ... A mesa (Spanish for table) is an elevated area of land with a flat top and surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs. ... Butte near Sedona, Arizona In the United States and Canada, a butte, related to a mesa, is an isolated hill with steep sides and a small flat top. ... ... Look up Erosion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Eroded paddock, Australia Detail of erosion Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity... Wind is the quasi-horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by a horizontal pressure gradient force. ... Water (from the Old English word wæter) is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is known also as the most universal solvent. ... Kukenan-Tepui. ... Guiana (also known as the Guiana highlands or the Guiana shield) forms a portion of the northern coast of South America. ...

Plateau is also used to describe undersea geologic formations. Some undersea plateaus, like the Seychelles plateau, are fragments of continental crust that lie separate from continents; they are analogous to continental shelves, but without the continents. Some, like the Seychelles, have peaks that rise from the sea as islands; others rest entirely below the surface. Other undersea plateaus were formed by outpourings of flood basalts, and were never associated with continents; the vast Ontong Jaya Plateau of the western Pacific is an example of such. The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent, which is covered during interglacial periods such as the one we live in by relatively shallow seas and gulfs. ... Basalt Basalt is an extrusive igneous rock, sometimes porphyritic, and is often both fine-grained and dense. ...

Examples of plateaus

The Tibetan plateau is one of the most famous examples of this landform, but there are many other notable examples of it from around the world, including: NASA satellite image of Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau is a large, elevated region in Central Asia, covering much of Tibet. ...

• Allegheny/Cumberland Plateau (a continuous landform with different local names)
• Chota Nagpur Plateau
• Colorado Plateau
• Deccan Plateau
• Highveld
• Iranian plateau
• Khorat Plateau
• Loess Plateau
• Pennyroyal Plateau/Highland Rim (a continuous landform with different local names)
• Vercors Plateau

A more complete list of plateaus is available. The Allegheny Plateau is a large, dissected plateau area in southern New York, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. ... The Cumberland Plateau includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia in the United States. ... The Chota Nagpur Plateau (also Chhota Nagpur) is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Orissa, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh. ... The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateaus Province, is a physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. ... Introduction The Deccan Plateau is a vast plateau in India, encompassing most of Central and Southern India. ... The Highveld is a high plateau area of South Africa which includes the largest metropolitan area in the country, Johannesburg. ... The Iranian plateau covers much of Iran and Afghanistan. ... The Khorat Plateau is a highland in the north-east of Thailand, also called Isan. ... The Loess Plateau covers an area of some 640,000 km² in the upper and middle parts of China’s Yellow River. ... The Pennyroyal Plateau, or, as its more commonly called in Kentucky, the Pennyrile, is a large area of the state that features rolling hills, caves, and karst topography in general. ... The Highland Rim is a geographic term for the area in Tennessee surrounding the Nashville Basin. ... Categories: France geography stubs | Geography of France | Plateaus ...

Dissected plateaus

A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau. These older uplifts have been eroded by creeks and rivers to develop steep relief not immediately distinguishable from mountains. Many areas of the Allegheny Plateau and the Cumberland Plateau, which are at the western edge of the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America, are called "mountains" but are actually dissected plateaus. One can stand on a high "mountain" and note that all the other tops are at the same height, which represents the original plain before uplift. Shaded relief map of Cumberland Plateau and Ridge and Valley Appalachians on the Virginia/West Virginia border A dissected plateau is an area that has been uplifted, then severely eroded so that the relief is sharp. ... Biological uplift refers to the theoretic prospect of upgrading the capacities of non-human animals or other intelligences. ... Creek can be: A native American tribe, see Creek (people) The language of that tribe, see Creek language In US and Australian usage, a waterflow, smaller than a river, see Creek (stream) In UK usage, a tidal watercourse, usually drying to little or no flow at low tide, see Creek... For the Second World War frigate class, see River class frigate The Murray River in Australia A river is a large natural waterway. ... Mount Cook, a mountain in New Zealand A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... The Allegheny Plateau is a large, dissected plateau area in southern New York, western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. ... The Cumberland Plateau includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia in the United States. ... The Appalachian Mountains are a system of North American mountains running from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada to Alabama in the United States, although the northernmost mainland portion ends at the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west... In geography, a plain is an expanse of land with relatively low relief. ...

A dissected plateau may also be formed, usually on a comparatively small scale, by the levelling of terrain by planing and deposition beneath an ice sheet or perhaps, an ice cap. Subsequently, during the same or a later glacial, the margins of the glacial till plain are removed by glaciers, leaving the plateau into which erosion by water incises valleys. Such a plateau may be level or gently sloping but may be distinguished by the till caps on its hills. Glacial till is still widely known in Britain by the older name of boulder clay. An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km² (19,305 mile²). The only current ice sheets are Antarctic and Greenland; during the last ice age at Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) the Laurentide ice sheet covered much of Canada... An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 square kilometers (12 million acres). ... Glaciation, often called an ice age, is a geological phenomenon in which massive ice sheets form in the Arctic and Antarctic and advance toward the equator. ... This article is about glacial sediments, for other uses see till (disambiguation). ... This article is about the geographical formation. ... Water (from the Old English word wæter) is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is known also as the most universal solvent. ... Fljótsdalur in East-Iceland A valley is a landform, which can range from a few square miles (square kilometers) to hundreds or even thousands of square miles (square kilometers) in area. ...