Plateaus and Plains of the World

33 plateaus and plains — Tibet to the Altiplano, intermontane, piedmont and lava plateaus, the great plains and region traps.

On this map (33)

Tibetan · China (Tibet, Qinghai); edges in India, Nepal, Bhutan — Intermontane plateau · highest. Highest and largest plateau — average height about 4 km ✓ (UPSC 1994)
Pamir · Tajikistan, Afghanistan (Wakhan), China — Mountain knot · “Roof of the World”. The “Roof of the World”: the Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Kunlun and Tian Shan meet here
Deccan · India — Lava plateau. Lava (basalt) plateau; tilts east, so most rivers flow to the Bay of Bengal ✓ (UPSC 2007 reason)
Iranian · Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan (Balochistan) — Intermontane plateau. Ringed by the Zagros and Elburz; salt deserts inside (Dasht-e Kavir)
Anatolian · Turkey — Intermontane plateau. Between the Pontic and Taurus mountains
Mongolian · Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia) — Plateau. High, dry grassland plateau with the Gobi to its south
Loess Plateau · China — Plateau. Wind-blown loess (silt) from the Gobi; the Huang He picks it up and turns yellow
Arabian · Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman — Plateau (tilted block). Tilts from the Red Sea rim down to the Gulf — the Abyssinian plateau is in AFRICA, not Arabia (UPSC 2013)
Central Siberian · Russia — Plateau. Between the Yenisey and Lena; permafrost and taiga
West Siberian Plain · Russia — Plain. One of the world’s largest flat lowlands; swampy because the Ob’s mouth freezes (UPSC 1991)
North China Plain · China — Plain. Built by the Huang He’s loess silt; wheat heartland
Indo-Gangetic Plain · Pakistan, India, Bangladesh — Plain. Alluvial plain of the Indus–Ganga–Brahmaputra; without the Himalaya it would lack this soil (UPSC 2010)
Mesopotamian Plain · Iraq — Plain. Between the Tigris and Euphrates — cradle of early civilisation
Ethiopian (Abyssinian) · Ethiopia, Eritrea — Lava plateau. Volcanic highlands where the Blue Nile rises — “Abyssinian Plateau : Arabia” ✗ (UPSC 2013)
East African · Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda — Plateau. Rift-valley plateau with Lake Victoria, Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti
South African (Veld) · South Africa, Lesotho — Plateau. High Veld plateau; Drakensberg escarpment on the east
Katanga · DR Congo — Plateau. Copper and cobalt belt (DR Congo holds ~¾ of world cobalt)
Atlas region · Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia — Fold mountains (landmark). Atlas Mountains → north-western Africa ✓ (UPSC 2013)
North European Plain · France → Germany → Poland → Russia — Plain. A low plain from the Atlantic to the Urals: farms, industry, invasion route
Meseta · Spain — Plateau. Central plateau of Spain; Madrid stands on it
Vosges (block) · France — Block mountain. Vosges → block mountains ✓ (UPSC 1991); the Rhine rift lies between them and the Black Forest
Colorado · USA — Plateau · canyons. Uplifted plateau cut by the Colorado River into the Grand Canyon (UPSC 2009 → USA)
Columbia · USA — Lava plateau. Flood-basalt plateau like the Deccan
Mexican · Mexico — Intermontane plateau. Between the Sierra Madre ranges
Laurentian (Canadian Shield) · Canada — Plateau. Ancient shield scraped by ice sheets; thousands of lakes, minerals
Great Plains · USA, Canada — Plain. Dry grassland plain east of the Rockies; wheat and cattle
Brazilian · Brazil — Plateau · shield. Old crystalline shield; campos (cerrado) grassland; iron ore
Guiana Highlands · Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil — Plateau. Tepuis and Angel Falls in NORTH-EASTERN South America — “Guiana Highlands : SW Africa” ✗ (UPSC 2013)
Bolivian (Altiplano) · Bolivia, Peru — Intermontane plateau. High plateau between two Andes chains; Lake Titicaca; lithium salt flats
Patagonian · Argentina — Piedmont plateau. Piedmont plateau east of the Andes; dry because of the rain shadow
Amazon Plain · Brazil, Peru, Colombia … — Plain. Vast equatorial lowland under rainforest
Nullarbor Plain · Australia — Plain. Flat, treeless limestone plain (“null arbor” = no tree)
Western Plateau · Australia — Plateau. Old shield covering most of Western Australia; iron ore (Pilbara) and gold

Asked in exams

UPSC 1994Average elevation of the Tibetan Plateau → 4 km
UPSC 2007Deccan higher in the west, slopes east ✓
UPSC 1997Deccan Traps → Cretaceous–Eocene
UPSC 2013Abyssinian Plateau – Arabia ✗; Atlas – NW Africa ✓
UPSC 2013Atlas Mountains – North-Western Africa ✓
UPSC 1991Vosges → block type

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