KERALA PSC / PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY / CLASSIFICATION OF LANDFORMS / PLATEAUS / NOTES / OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS / STUDY MATERIALS / GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

 

KERALA PSC / PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY / CLASSIFICATION OF LANDFORMS / PLATEAUS / NOTES / OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS / STUDY MATERIALS / GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

KERALA PSC / PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY / CLASSIFICATION OF LANDFORMS / PLATEAUS / NOTES / OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS / STUDY MATERIALS / GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

PLATEAUS

·      A plateau is an elevated area generally in contrast to the nearby areas.

·      It has a large area on its top unlike a mountain and has an extensively even or undulating surface.

·      The rocks of the plateau are layered with sandstones, shales and limestones.

·      But an inclined or tilted strata may also become flat through continuous wearing down. The great Deccan Plateau with its slope towards east is a tilted plateau in our country.

·      Very often, rivers and streams cut out deep valleys and canyons in a plateau region.

·       The plateaus are famous for minerals. Plateaus have cooler climates than those of plains. The plateaus are of four types on the basis of their situation:

Ø Intermontane plateaus

Ø Continental plateaus

Ø Piedmont plateaus

Ø Lava plateaus

 

INTERMONTANE PLATEAUS

·      The plateaus which are partly or fully enclosed by mountains are known as Intermontane Plateaus.

·      The highest and extensive plateaus of the world such as Tibet, Bolivia and Mexico are of this category.

·      These are the results of the mountain-building process which was accompanied by a vertical uplift of the adjoining enclosed lands.

 

PIEDMONT PLATEAUS

·      Situated at the foot of a mountain, they are bounded on the opposite side by a plain or an ocean.

·      The plateau of Malwa in India, Those of Patagonia in Argentina and the Appalachian in US are some of the examples. Eg: Appalchian plateau, Patagonian plateau

 

CONTINENTAL PLATEAUS

·      They rise abruptly from the lowlands or from the sea

·      They are the result of a continental uplift producing large tablelands like the plateaus of Brazil, South Africa, West Australia, Chotanagpur and Shillong. Their heights vary from 600-1500 metres.

·      Sometimes a plain or a low-lying area is vertically uplifted and gives rise to a plateau.

·      In India plateaus of Kaimur, Rohtas, Ranchi and Karnataka are of this type.

 

LAVA PLATEAUS

·      When lava spreads out to cover the pre-existing land surface, a lava plateau is formed which is also called a plateau of accumulation.

·      The horizontal sheets of lava flow have trapped the original topography varying in depth from 1200-1500 meters over large parts of Maharashtra and the adjoining areas in Deccan. Eg : Columbia plateau (USA), Mahabaleshwar plateau

KERALA PSC / PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY / CLASSIFICATION OF LANDFORMS / PLATEAUS / NOTES / OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS / STUDY MATERIALS / GENERAL KNOWLEDGE