- published: 10 Jan 2009
- views: 3945837
In geology and earth science, a plateau ( /pləˈtoʊ/ or /ˈplætoʊ/; plural plateaus or rarely plateaux), also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain.
Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers. Magma rises from the mantle causing the ground to swell upward, in this way large, flat areas of rock are uplifted. Plateaus can also be built up by lava spreading outward from cracks and weak areas in the crust. Plateaus can also be formed by the erosional processes of glaciers on mountain ranges, leaving them sitting between the mountain ranges. Water can also erode mountains and other landforms down into plateaus.
Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment.
The largest and highest plateau in the world is the Tibetan Plateau, called the "roof of the world", which is still being formed by the collisions of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates. In all, the Tibetan plateau covers an area of some 2.5 million square kilometres, approximately 5000 m above sea level. The height of this plateau is such that it is enough to reverse the Hadley cell convection cycles and to drive the monsoons of India towards the south.
many a hand has scaled the grand old face of the plateau
some belong to strangers and some to folks you know
holy ghosts and talk show hosts are planted in the sand
to beautify the foothills and shake the many hands
there's nothing on the top but a bucket and a mop
and an illustrated book about birds
you see a lot up there but don't be scared
who needs action when you got words
when you're finished with the mop then you can stop
and look at what you've done
the plateau's clean, no dirt to be seen
and the work it took was fun
well the many hands began to scan around for the next plateau
some said it was in greenland and some in mexico
some decided it was nowhere except for where they stood