PLATEAUS.ORG / WORLD ATLAS
Explore the World’s Plateaus
Trace the world’s highlands. Explore plateau locations, discover how they formed, and read the stories behind the terrain.
1,771 plateau locations are currently marked on the world atlas.
PUBLISHED PLATEAU GUIDES
Field notes from the highlands
Discover the geology, elevation and landscapes of these plateau systems in our published guides.
Adamawa Plateau
A highland and plateau region extending from eastern Nigeria into Cameroon.
Commonly around 1,000 mNigeria · Cameroon
Read the plateau guide →Ahaggar Plateau
A rugged volcanic highland and plateau complex in the central Sahara.
High uplands with peaks far above 2,000 mAlgeria
Read the plateau guide →East African Plateau
A broad elevated region strongly associated with rifting, volcanism and major lake basins.
Broadly 1,000–2,000 mKenya · Tanzania · Uganda
Read the plateau guide →Jos Plateau
A prominent central Nigerian upland with volcanic features and deeply incised valleys.
Often around 1,200 mNigeria
Read the plateau guide →Tassili n’Ajjer
A sandstone plateau of the central Sahara famous for cliffs, arches and deeply eroded rock landscapes.
Often above 1,000 mAlgeria
Read the plateau guide →Antarctic Plateau
The immense high interior of East Antarctica, dominated by the continental ice sheet.
Interior ice surface commonly above 3,000 mAntarctica
Read the plateau guide →Baghelkhand Plateau
A dissected central Indian plateau between adjoining upland and basin regions.
Mostly several hundred metresIndia
Read the plateau guide →Bundelkhand Plateau
A rocky plateau and upland region across parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Mostly several hundred metresIndia
Read the plateau guide →Central Anatolian Plateau
The broad interior upland of Türkiye, enclosed by major mountain systems.
Mostly around 900–1,500 mTürkiye
Read the plateau guide →Chota Nagpur Plateau
A mineral-rich dissected plateau region of eastern India.
Commonly 700–1,000 mIndia
Read the plateau guide →Deccan Plateau
A major peninsular Indian plateau shaped in part by vast basaltic lava provinces.
Mostly 500–1,000+ mIndia
Read the plateau guide →Erzurum–Kars Plateau
A cold high plateau zone in northeastern Türkiye with volcanic and tectonic landforms.
Commonly around 1,800–2,000 mTürkiye
Read the plateau guide →Inner Mongolian Plateau
An extensive steppe plateau spanning northern China toward Mongolia.
Broadly around 1,000–1,500 mChina · Mongolia
Read the plateau guide →Ladakh Plateau
A cold high-altitude plateau landscape within the greater Himalayan–Tibetan region.
High-altitude, commonly above 3,000 mIndia
Read the plateau guide →Loess Plateau
A deeply dissected plateau of wind-blown silt in north-central China.
Broadly 1,000–2,000 mChina
Read the plateau guide →Malwa Plateau
A lava-built upland of central India north of the Vindhya ranges.
Generally 450–600 mIndia
Read the plateau guide →Mysore Plateau
A southern Indian upland forming part of the broader Deccan landscape.
Commonly 600–900 mIndia
Read the plateau guide →Pamir Plateau
A very high mountain plateau and knot of ranges in Central Asia.
Extensive terrain above 3,000 mTajikistan · Kyrgyzstan · Afghanistan · China
Read the plateau guide →Shillong Plateau
A tectonically uplifted block forming a distinct highland in northeast India.
Commonly 1,000–2,000 mIndia
Read the plateau guide →Tibetan Plateau
A vast high-elevation plateau system north of the Himalaya and one of Earth’s most prominent upland regions.
Mostly above 4,000 mChina · India · Nepal · Bhutan
Read the plateau guide →Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau
A rugged upland region of southwest China marked by karst, basins and dissected relief.
Commonly 1,000–2,000 mChina
Read the plateau guide →Kimberley Plateau
A rugged sandstone and volcanic plateau region of northwestern Australia cut by dramatic gorges.
Mostly several hundred metresAustralia
Read the plateau guide →Western Plateau
Australia’s immense western plateau province, built on ancient continental crust and heavily weathered landscapes.
Mostly several hundred metresAustralia
Read the plateau guide →Allegheny Plateau
A northern sector of the Appalachian Plateau strongly dissected by river systems.
Mostly several hundred metresUnited States
Read the plateau guide →Appalachian Plateau
A deeply dissected plateau belt along the western side of the Appalachian Mountains.
Commonly several hundred to 1,200 mUnited States
Read the plateau guide →Colorado Plateau
A high, relatively stable crustal block cut by canyons across the Four Corners region.
Mostly 1,500–2,500 mUnited States
Read the plateau guide →Columbia Plateau
A vast basalt plateau of the Pacific Northwest built by repeated flood-basalt eruptions.
Mostly several hundred to 1,200 mUnited States
Read the plateau guide →Cumberland Plateau
A southern Appalachian upland capped by resistant sedimentary rocks and cut by gorges.
Commonly 500–900 mUnited States
Read the plateau guide →Edwards Plateau
A limestone plateau of central Texas associated with springs, karst and the Hill Country.
Mostly 300–900 mUnited States
Read the plateau guide →Labrador Plateau
A broad Canadian Shield upland across Labrador and adjacent Quebec.
Generally several hundred metresCanada
Read the plateau guide →Ozark Plateau
An eroded upland of the south-central United States with plateaus, ridges, valleys and karst.
Mostly several hundred metresUnited States
Read the plateau guide →Yukon Plateau
A complex northern upland of rounded mountains, intermontane valleys and plateau surfaces.
Broad uplands commonly 600–1,500 mCanada · United States
Read the plateau guide →Kerguelen Plateau
A huge mostly submerged volcanic plateau in the southern Indian Ocean.
Mostly submergedFrench Southern Territories
Read the plateau guide →Ontong Java Plateau
One of the world’s largest oceanic plateaus, formed by enormous submarine volcanic output in the western Pacific.
Submarine plateauSolomon Islands
Read the plateau guide →Shatsky Rise
A large igneous rise in the northwest Pacific built by massive volcanic construction.
Submarine plateauInternational Waters
Read the plateau guide →Caribbean–Colombian Oceanic Plateau
A large Cretaceous oceanic plateau underlying much of the Caribbean region.
Mostly submergedColombia · Venezuela · Caribbean Sea
Read the plateau guide →Mato Grosso Plateau
A central Brazilian plateau region associated with broad watersheds and cerrado landscapes.
Mostly several hundred metresBrazil
Read the plateau guide →BROWSE BY LOCATION
Plateaus across the world
Follow the highlands across continents, explore a country, or discover the plateaus beneath the ocean.
PLATEAU GEOGRAPHY
Understand the landscape behind the map
Use these subject guides for definitions, classification, elevation, area, drainage, environmental systems and terrain measurement.
What Is a Plateau?
Definition, relief and landform traits
Types of Plateaus
Formation, setting and surface form
Highest Plateaus
Elevation and highland comparisons
Largest Plateaus
Area, boundaries and scale
Plateaus and Rivers
Drainage, headwaters and incision
Maps, Data & Measurement
Boundaries, DEMs, relief and area
Plateau Systems
Water, soils, lakes and hazards
Plateau Glossary
Geography and geology terminology
LANDFORM CLASSIFICATION
A plateau can have more than one identity
Origin, geographic setting and present-day surface form describe different dimensions of the same landscape. A plateau can be tectonically elevated, intermontane and dissected at the same time.
Explore all plateau types →FULL ATLAS INDEX
Explore every mapped system
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Global geographic-name coverage uses GeoNames data under CC BY 4.0. Plateaus.org curated entries and published guides take precedence where records overlap.