Plateaus (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what plateaus are, their characteristics, differences from plains and examples of plateaus in Mexico and the world.

plateau relief Venezuelan tepuis — The Venezuelan tepuis are a particularly steep type of plateau.

What is a plateau?

A plateau is a plateau, that is, an extensive plain elevated to a certain height (generally above 500 meters above sea level), or sometimes surrounded by mountains. It arises as a result of tectonic and erosive forces of the relief.

Plateaus are a relatively common type of relief, which It has its origin in the elevation of certain flat and horizontal strata due to the meeting between two tectonic plates.

In other cases, They can arise from the sustained action of rivers, rains and other erosive factors that corrode the less resistant elements of a mountain, thus producing a plain at its top. Also There are plateaus from volcanic action always formed under the oceans.

Plateaus can have different heights, proportions and extensions. They receive different names depending on the region:

Altiplanos. They are plateaus sandwiched between two or more mountain ranges, at high altitudes.
Buttes. They are isolated flat hills with steep slopes, in the United States or Canada.
Plated. They are formations more than 600 meters high with an almost flat portion at the top, in Brazil.

Examples of plateaus

Andean highland relief plateau — The Andean plateau is a plateau at more than 3,000 meters above sea level.

Some of the best-known plateaus in the world are the following:

The Andean plateau Located in the Andes Mountains, it is a large flat area more than 3 kilometers above sea level.
The Puna of Atacama A huge plateau (100,000 km² of area) located north of Chile and Argentina, and separated from the Andean plateau by an orographic knot, it is above 3,000 meters high.
The Tibet Plateau Located in that country and more than 4 kilometers above sea level, it is part of the Himalayan mountain chain.
The central Spanish plateau With an average elevation of between 600 and 700 meters, it occupies almost the entire country, surrounded by mountain ranges that separate it from the coastal and maritime region.
The Rocco Plateau Australian The densest on the entire globe, with an area of more than 1,300 square meters.
The Cundiboyacense plateau Located in Colombia at an average altitude of 2600 meters above sea level, in an area of 25,000 km² where the city of Bogotá is located.
The Venezuelan Tepuis A type of plateau that is particularly abrupt and hollow inside, which encloses entire ecosystems apart from the rest of the environment and still unexplored by humans, located in the southeastern region of the territory.

Plateaus of Mexico

In the territory of Mexico we can find the following plateaus, together forming the so-called Mexican Plateau:

The Central Table or Center Table Formerly called the Central Altiplano, it is located between the Sierra Madres of the West and the East, bordering the Neovolcanic Axis to the south. It covers the territory of the states of Jalisco, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato and Querétaro.
The Purépecha Plateau Also known as Madre Tarasca, located at the foot of the Neovolcanic Axis in the state of Michoacán, saw the emergence of the Purépecha culture in the Mesoamerican postclassic period, of which there are still descendants dedicated to agricultural production, in towns such as Pátzcuaro, Tzintzuntzan and Tarzan.
The Sierras and Plains of the North Occupying a good part of the state of Chihuahua, as well as parts of Coahuila, Durango and Sonora, they are nestled between the Sierra Madre Occidental and Oriental, at a height of 1000 to 1300 meters above sea level, with a warm and semi-desert climate.

Plateaus and plains

spanish central plateau madrid relief — Although it may look like a plain, most of Spain is a plateau.

Plains and depressions are extensive, flat areas of relief with gentle elevations at most, such as hills or knolls, although it is not uncommon to find interruptions in the landscape such as plateaus or depressions. Unlike plateaus, the plains are not elevated.

The first are flat elevations, and the second are the opposite: submerged plains, even below sea level. These three types of relief are flat or flat, and for that reason they are usually used for agriculture (when conditions allow) or for livestock activity.

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