INTERACTIVE CONTEXT MAP
Major plateau systems on the world map
A compact geographic overview of major and published plateau systems.
Explore All Plateaus By Continent
Plateaus occur on every continent, but their regional form varies widely. Some occupy broad continental interiors, some lie within or beside mountain systems, some are strongly dissected by rivers, and others appear as tablelands, uplands, or ice-covered high surfaces. This page organizes the main plateau regions by continent and geographic location and provides routes into the continent-level references.
The continent index uses the site’s seven-continent system: Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica. Detailed comparisons based on elevation, area, formation, climate, or other cross-continent characteristics are separate topics rather than part of this directory.
| Continent | Representative Plateau Regions | Continental Setting | Continent Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | Ethiopian Highlands, East African Plateau, South African Highveld, Bié Plateau, Jos Plateau, Ahaggar, Katanga Plateau | Plateau and highland regions occur across eastern, southern, central, western, and Saharan Africa. | Plateaus in Africa |
| Asia | Tibetan Plateau, Iranian Plateau, Anatolian Plateau, Deccan Plateau, Mongolian Plateau, Loess Plateau, Central Siberian Plateau | Plateau regions extend across Central, South, East, North, and Southwest Asia. | Plateaus in Asia |
| Europe | Iberian Meseta, Massif Central, Central Russian Upland, Swiss Plateau, Bohemian-Moravian Highlands | European plateau geography is distributed among interior plateaus, uplands, massifs, and foreland surfaces. | Plateaus in Europe |
| North America | Colorado Plateau, Columbia Plateau, Mexican Plateau, Appalachian Plateau, Ozark Plateau, Edwards Plateau, northern uplands | Plateaus occur across the western interior, Mexico, eastern uplands, central regions, and northern Canada and Alaska. | Plateaus in North America |
| South America | Altiplano, Puna, Brazilian Highlands, Guiana Highlands, Patagonian Plateau, Mato Grosso Plateau | Plateau regions occur within the Andes and across older continental uplands east of the mountain belt. | Plateaus in South America |
| Australia | Western Plateau, Kimberley Plateau, Barkly Tableland, Nullarbor Plain, Atherton Tableland, other regional uplands | Australia contains broad interior plateau country together with regional tablelands and dissected uplands. | Plateaus in Australia |
| Antarctica | Antarctic Plateau, East Antarctic Plateau, Polar Plateau | The continental interior is dominated by a broad elevated ice surface over underlying bedrock terrain. | Plateaus in Antarctica |
Map Note: A continent may contain many named plateaus, tablelands, uplands, and highland regions. Continental pages group these landforms by location and regional relationship rather than treating every raised surface as the same landform type.
What Belongs in a Continental Plateau Index?
A continent-level index identifies where major plateau regions occur and how they fit within the continent’s broader physical geography. It sits between the global plateau reference and the more detailed country or named-region pages.
A plateau region may be a clearly named plateau, a tableland, a broad upland, or a highland region with plateau-like surfaces. These terms should remain distinct where established geographic usage distinguishes them.
The continental index therefore answers location and organization questions: which plateau regions belong to Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Australia, or Antarctica, and where should a reader continue for regional detail.
Africa
Africa contains plateau and highland regions across much of the continent. Major examples occur in the Ethiopian and East African highlands, the southern African interior, central and western Africa, and the Sahara.
Representative names include the Ethiopian Highlands, East African Plateau, South African Highveld, Bié Plateau, Jos Plateau, Fouta Djallon, Ahaggar, and Katanga Plateau.
The Africa reference places these regions within their continental setting and separates plateaus from neighboring mountains, rift zones, basins, and lower terrain.
Explore plateau regions in Africa
Asia
Asia contains plateau systems across a very large geographic range, from Türkiye and Iran through Central and South Asia to China, Mongolia, Siberia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Southeast Asia.
Major names include the Tibetan Plateau, Iranian Plateau, Anatolian Plateau, Deccan Plateau, Arabian Plateau, Mongolian Plateau, Loess Plateau, Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and Central Siberian Plateau.
The Asia reference organizes these regions geographically and shows how individual plateau systems relate to surrounding countries, basins, plains, and mountain belts.
Explore plateau regions in Asia
Europe
Europe’s plateau geography is distributed among several interior plateaus, uplands, massifs, and raised foreland regions rather than one continuous plateau belt.
Representative regions include the Iberian Meseta, Massif Central, Central Russian Upland, Swiss Plateau, and Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. Scandinavian and southeastern European landscapes also contain regional plateau and tableland terrain.
The Europe reference separates these raised regions from adjacent mountain systems, plains, basins, and other uplands.
Explore plateau regions in Europe
North America
North American plateaus occur across the western United States, Mexico, eastern and central parts of the United States, Canada, and northern regions adjoining Alaska and Yukon.
Representative examples include the Colorado Plateau, Columbia Plateau, Mexican Plateau, Appalachian Plateau, Ozark Plateau, Edwards Plateau, Llano Estacado, and northern uplands.
The continent page places these regions within the larger North American pattern of mountain belts, plains, basins, shield terrain, and interior uplands.
Explore plateau regions in North America
South America
South American plateau geography includes raised regions within the Andes and extensive older uplands farther east and south.
Major examples include the Altiplano, Puna, Brazilian Highlands, Guiana Highlands, Patagonian Plateau, and Mato Grosso Plateau.
The South America reference organizes these regions according to their position within the Andean belt, continental interior, shield regions, and southern tablelands.
Explore plateau regions in South America
Australia
Australia contains broad plateau country across its western and central interior together with smaller tablelands, uplands, and plateau-like regions elsewhere on the continent.
Representative names include the Western Plateau, Kimberley Plateau, Barkly Tableland, Nullarbor Plain, and Atherton Tableland. Other regional uplands occur within the interior and eastern high country.
The Australia reference separates these plateau and tableland regions from the Central Lowlands, mountain terrain, coastal plains, and other major physiographic divisions.
Explore plateau regions in Australia
Antarctica
Antarctica requires different terminology because the visible continental interior is dominated by a thick ice sheet. The Antarctic Plateau and East Antarctic Plateau refer to broad elevated ice-covered interior terrain rather than an exposed rock tableland comparable to most continental examples.
The underlying bedrock surface and the upper ice surface are separate physical surfaces, so descriptions of Antarctic plateau geography need to keep those measurements distinct.
Explore plateau regions in Antarctica
Continental and Regional Names Use Different Scales
Plateau names in a continental directory do not all represent landforms of the same size or classification. Some describe very large regional systems, while others describe smaller plateaus, tablelands, uplands, or highland areas with a strong geographic identity.
| Geographic Level | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Global | Organizes major plateau and plateau-like regions across the world | World plateau reference |
| Continent | Groups plateau regions by continental location | Plateaus in Africa or Plateaus in Asia |
| Country | Organizes plateau regions within one country | Plateaus in Ethiopia, China, India, or the United States |
| Named Region | Covers one individual plateau or highland system | Tibetan Plateau, Colorado Plateau, Loess Plateau |
A named plateau that crosses national borders can appear in more than one country context while remaining one physical region. Likewise, a continent may include plateaus, uplands, tablelands, and highland systems without treating those terms as exact synonyms.
Plateau Regions and Neighboring Landforms
Continental plateau maps often include neighboring mountains, plains, basins, escarpments, and river valleys because these landforms help define the position of the raised region.
| Landform | Relationship to Plateau Regions |
|---|---|
| Mountain Range | May border a plateau, cross a larger highland system, or separate plateau basins. |
| Basin | Can occupy lower terrain inside or beside a plateau region. |
| Plain | Often forms lower terrain beyond a plateau margin. |
| Escarpment | Can mark a steep transition from a plateau surface toward lower land. |
| Tableland | A regional raised surface that may be grouped with plateau geography while retaining its established name. |
| Highland | A broader raised region that may contain plateaus, mountain blocks, valleys, and ridges. |
Browse Plateau Regions by Continent
Africa
Plateaus in Africa
Ethiopian, East African, southern African, central African, western African, and Saharan plateau and highland regions.
Asia
Plateaus in Asia
Plateau systems across East, South, Central, North, Southwest, and Southeast Asia.
Europe
Plateaus in Europe
Interior plateaus, uplands, massifs, tablelands, and foreland plateau regions across Europe.
North America
Plateaus in North America
Plateau regions across the United States, Mexico, Canada, and northern continental uplands.
South America
Plateaus in South America
Andean plateaus, shield highlands, Brazilian uplands, and southern tableland regions.
Australia
Plateaus in Australia
Western plateau country, regional tablelands, limestone surfaces, and other Australian uplands.
Antarctica
Plateaus in Antarctica
The Antarctic Plateau, East Antarctic Plateau, and related ice-covered interior terminology.
Directory Note: This page groups plateau regions by continent and geographic scale. Cross-continent comparisons based on elevation, area, environmental setting, formation, or relationship to mountain systems are handled separately so the continent directory remains focused on location and navigation.