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Satellite image of the Tibetan Plateau between the Himalayan mountains to the south and the Taklamakan Desert to the north. In geology and physical geography, a plateau (/ p l ə ˈ t oʊ, p l æ ˈ t oʊ, ˈ p l æ t oʊ /; French:; pl.: plateaus or plateaux), [1] [2] also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the ...
An oceanic or submarine plateau is a large, relatively flat elevation that is higher than the surrounding relief with one or more relatively steep sides. [ 1 ] There are 184 oceanic plateaus in the world, covering an area of 18,486,600 km 2 (7,137,700 sq mi) or about 5.11% of the oceans. [ 2 ]
Map showing Earth's principal tectonic plates and their boundaries in detail. These plates comprise the bulk of the continents and the Pacific Ocean.For purposes of this list, a major plate is any plate with an area greater than 20 million km 2 (7.7 million sq mi)
Satellite image of the Big Raven Plateau in British Columbia, Canada Rangipo Desert of the North Island Volcanic Plateau. Numerous tephra layers are visible. The Pajarito Plateau in New Mexico, United States is an example of a volcanic plateau. A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity. There are two main types: lava ...
Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') [1] is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago.
Pingo – Mound of earth-covered ice; Pit crater – Depression formed by a sinking or collapse of the surface lying above a void or empty chamber; Plain – Expanse of land that is mostly flat and treeless; Plateau – Highland area, usually of relatively flat terrain
Examples of such islands are found in the Pacific, notably the three phosphate islets of Nauru, Makatea, and Banaba, as well as Maré and Lifou in New Caledonia; Fatu Huku in the Marquesas Islands; and Henderson Island in the Pitcairn Islands. The uplift of these islands is the result of the movement of oceanic tectonic plates.
A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded such that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding , metamorphism , extensive faulting , or magmatic activity that accompanies orogeny .