World Geography / Topography
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There are generally 4 types of plateaus in the world namely, Piedmont plateaus, Volcanic plateaus, Intermontane plateaus and Continental plateaus. A Plateau is an elevated flat-topped table land that generally has at least on one side, a steep slope descending abruptly onto a lower land.
The importance of plateaus is immense because they are generally very rich in mineral deposits. Because of rich mineral deposits, many mining centres around the world are located near the plateau regions. Similarly, waterfalls are formed when rivers fall down at the edge of the plateaus. These waterfalls attract tourists and at the same time they can be used for generating electricity if a hydroelectric power station is set up.
The four different types of plateaus are explained below
Piedmont plateaus are located at the foot of a mountain range. The other side of the plateau may have a sea or a plain. In Piedmont plateaus case,
the areas were once located at higher ranges and now they are cut down by different agents of erosion.
The best example of Piedmont plateau is the Plateau of
Piedmont itself, located at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains in USA. It is on its name, these plateaus are classified.
Other Piedmont plateau examples are Malwa Plateau on the foot of the Vindhya mountains, Deccan Plateau
on the foot of the Sahyadri ranges, Patagonia Plateau on the foot of the Andes mountains, etc.
Volcanoes create several forms of plateaus ranging from smaller to larger plateaus. A volcanic plateau is created by the lava of volcanic eruptions
that accumulate slowly over a period of time.
The soils of volcanic plateaus are very fertile when compared to other kinds of plateaus and hence we can find
more agricultural activity here.
The best example of Volcanic plateau is Deccan Traps in India. Other Volcanic plateau examples are Columbia Plateau of US, North Island Volcanic Plateau
of New Zealand, etc.
A plateau that is surrounded by hills and mountains is called Intermontane plateau. These are generally the highest and largest plateaus in the world.
The orogenic process of the earth raise these landforms to a higher elevated locations way above the sea level.
The examples of intermontane plateau
are Tibetan Plateau (also called "Roof of the World", which is the highest and largest plateau in the world), Mexican Plateau, etc.
Unlike other plateaus which are located near to the mountains, Continental plateaus are surrounded on all the sides by either the plains or the seas.
Since all the sides of these types of plateaus are low lying areas, there will be continuous erosion
of these plateau surfaces because of which agricultural development is very slow in these plateaus.
Continental plateau examples are Chota Nagpur Plateau (also called "Ruhr of India"), Bundelkhand Plateau, etc.