Discover what a plateau is, how it forms, and its types. Explore famous examples, fascinating facts, and their role in ecosystems, history, and culture. A plateau is an elevated land with a flat top and steep slope on at least one side. The elevation is usually between 90 to 900m. What does a plateau look like? Plateaux (more than one plateau ) occur in almost every part of the world and are one of the most common landforms. One major difference between a plateau and a mountain is that a plateau is flat at the top. Table Mountain in Cape Town South Africa and the Tibetan Plateau in Central Asia are two great examples of plateaux. A plateau ... How are Plateaus Formed? Many processes are behind the formation of plateaus including collisions of tectonic plates, upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by glaciers and water. Collisions of Tectonic Plates A dissected plateau forms due to the upward movement in the Earth’s crust. The slow collisions of tectonic plates uplift the land to form a plateau . Example: The Colorado Plateau in the western United States, Tibetan plateau . Upwelling and Extrusion Lava or ... Plateau We explain what a plateau is, how it forms, and discuss its types and characteristics. Also, we explore the largest and highest plateaus in the world.