In geology and earth science, a plateau (/pləˈtoʊ/ or /ˈplætoʊ/; plural plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain that is raised significantly above the surrounding area, often with one or more sides with steep slopes.

Formation

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 really large, flat areas of rock that 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. Computer modeling studies suggest that high plateaus may also be partially a result from the feedback between tectonic deformation and dry climatic conditions created at the lee side of growing orogens.

A plateau of a function is a part of its domain where the function has constant value.

More formally, let U, V be topological spaces. A plateau for a function f: U → V is a path-connected set of points P of U such that for some y we have

for all p in P.

Examples

Plateaus can be observed in mathematical models as well as natural systems. In nature, plateaus can be observed in physical, chemical and biological systems. An example of an observed plateau in the natural world is in the tabulation of biodiversity of life through time.

See also

References

This article incorporates material from plateau on PlanetMath, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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