Plateaus
Plateaus are similar to mountains in the fact that they are raised areas of land that are typically formed by erosion. The difference between mountains and plateaus is that plateaus do not have steep peaks at the top, they are relatively flat areas of land the word plateau comes from a French word meaning table land (What is Plateau?). While plateaus are not perfectly flat but, they do have a very low change in elevation and this is called a low relief.
Plateaus are large areas of land that are particularly subject to erosion because of their elevation. Plateaus have steep sides that separate them from the surrounding area and they can be very high or they can also be lower lying depending on the age of the plateau and the way that it was formed (What is a Plateau?). Plateaus are constantly being shaped by erosion but that may not be the way that they were formed. Plateaus can be formed by the lava flow from a volcanic eruption cooling and building up an area of land. This is not something that happens overnight though it take several eruptions to produce enough lava flow to build up the land for a plateau (What is a Plateau?). They like mountains, can also be formed by a process called upward folding that has to do with tectonic plate movement. Since plateaus can be low or high lying the ways that they are used can differ.
Plateaus that are low lying are typically used for things such as farmland whereas plateaus that are higher are used for things such as grazing lands for various livestock (What is a Plateau?). One of the main differences between plateaus and mountains though is that they raised, flat tops of plateaus are much more wide-spread than the steep peaks of mountains.
Plateaus are similar to mountains in the fact that they are raised areas of land that are typically formed by erosion. The difference between mountains and plateaus is that plateaus do not have steep peaks at the top, they are relatively flat areas of land the word plateau comes from a French word meaning table land (What is Plateau?). While plateaus are not perfectly flat but, they do have a very low change in elevation and this is called a low relief.
Plateaus are large areas of land that are particularly subject to erosion because of their elevation. Plateaus have steep sides that separate them from the surrounding area and they can be very high or they can also be lower lying depending on the age of the plateau and the way that it was formed (What is a Plateau?). Plateaus are constantly being shaped by erosion but that may not be the way that they were formed. Plateaus can be formed by the lava flow from a volcanic eruption cooling and building up an area of land. This is not something that happens overnight though it take several eruptions to produce enough lava flow to build up the land for a plateau (What is a Plateau?). They like mountains, can also be formed by a process called upward folding that has to do with tectonic plate movement. Since plateaus can be low or high lying the ways that they are used can differ.
Plateaus that are low lying are typically used for things such as farmland whereas plateaus that are higher are used for things such as grazing lands for various livestock (What is a Plateau?). One of the main differences between plateaus and mountains though is that they raised, flat tops of plateaus are much more wide-spread than the steep peaks of mountains.