
In geology and earth science, a plateau (alternatively spelt in a false French spelling plâteau, the real spelling in French language being ''plateau'') is an area of highland (geographic feature), usually consisting of relatively flat open country if the uplift was recent in Geologic timescale. Plateaus (or plâteaux), like mesas and buttes, are formed when land has been uplifted by tectonic activity and then erosion 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. ''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 shelf, 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 basalt, and were never associated with continents; the vast Ontong Jaya Plateau of the western Pacific is an example of such. == 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: * Allegheny Plateau/Cumberland Plateau (a continuous landform with different local names) * Chota Nagpur Plateau * Colorado Plateau * Deccan * Highveld * Iranian plateau * Khorat Plateau * Loess Plateau * Pennyroyal Plateau/Highland Rim (a continuous landform with different local names) * Vercors Plateau A more complete :Category:Plateaus is available. == 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. 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 Glaciation, the margins of the 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 United Kingdom by the older name of boulder clay. Plateaus
#REDIRECT plateau
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Plateau:
Plateau
Plâteau
Plateau's_problem
Plateau99
Plateaus
Plateaus
Plateaux
PlatEAU_(band)
Plateau_(band)
Plateau_(disambiguation)
Plateau_(geology)
Plateau_(mathematics)
Plateau_(mathematics)
Plateau_Creek
Plateau_Creek_(Colorado)
Plateau_geology
Plateau_Haitian_Creole
Plateau_Indians
Plateau_Mont-Royal
Plateau_Mont-Royal,_Quebec
Plateau_of_Leng
Plateau_of_Tibet
Plateau_Penutian
Plateau_Penutian_languages
Plateau_Penutian_languages
Plateau_phase
Plateau_phase
Plateau_problem
Plateau_sigma
Plateau_State
Plateau_State,_Nigeria
Plateau_Valley
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau (alternatively spelt in a false French spelling plâteau, the real spelling in French language being ''plateau'') is an area of highland (geographic feature), usually consisting of relatively flat open country if the uplift was recent in Geologic timescale. Plateaus (or plâteaux), like mesas and buttes, are formed when land has been uplifted by tectonic activity and then erosion 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. ''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 shelf, 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 basalt, and were never associated with continents; the vast Ontong Jaya Plateau of the western Pacific is an example of such. == 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: * Allegheny Plateau/Cumberland Plateau (a continuous landform with different local names) * Chota Nagpur Plateau * Colorado Plateau * Deccan * Highveld * Iranian plateau * Khorat Plateau * Loess Plateau * Pennyroyal Plateau/Highland Rim (a continuous landform with different local names) * Vercors Plateau A more complete :Category:Plateaus is available. == 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. 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 Glaciation, the margins of the 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 United Kingdom by the older name of boulder clay. Plateaus
Plâteau
#REDIRECT plateau
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
P
PA | PB | PC | PD | PE | PF | PG | PH | PI | PJ | PK | PL | PM | PN | PO | PR | PS | PT | PU | PW | PX | PY | PZ |Words begining with Plateau:
Plateau
Plâteau
Plateau's_problem
Plateau99
Plateaus
Plateaus
Plateaux
PlatEAU_(band)
Plateau_(band)
Plateau_(disambiguation)
Plateau_(geology)
Plateau_(mathematics)
Plateau_(mathematics)
Plateau_Creek
Plateau_Creek_(Colorado)
Plateau_geology
Plateau_Haitian_Creole
Plateau_Indians
Plateau_Mont-Royal
Plateau_Mont-Royal,_Quebec
Plateau_of_Leng
Plateau_of_Tibet
Plateau_Penutian
Plateau_Penutian_languages
Plateau_Penutian_languages
Plateau_phase
Plateau_phase
Plateau_problem
Plateau_sigma
Plateau_State
Plateau_State,_Nigeria
Plateau_Valley
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