(a) What is a plateau? (b) List two types of plateaux. (c) Describe the formation of any one type of plateau listed in (b) above. (d) Highlight three ways i...

Answer Details

(a) What is a plateau?

A plateau is an extensive area of highland with a fairly level or gently undulating top and steep sides, standing well above the surrounding land. It is often called a tableland.

(b) Two types of plateaux

• Volcanic (lava) plateau.
• Dissected/tectonic (block) plateau. (Others: intermont plateau, continental plateau.)

(c) Formation of one type of plateau

Volcanic (lava) plateau: During quiet, fissure eruptions, very fluid basaltic lava wells up through long cracks in the earth's crust and spreads out over a wide area. As successive flows cool and solidify one on top of another, they build up thick, horizontal sheets of rock with a broad, flat surface. Over time this piled-up lava forms an extensive, level upland known as a lava or volcanic plateau (for example the Jos Plateau region and the Deccan of India).

(d) Three ways plateaux are important to man

• They are rich in minerals (tin, gold, coal), which are mined.
• Their cool climate favours settlement, health resorts and the growing of temperate crops.
• Their edges have waterfalls and rivers that are used to generate hydro-electric power.
• They provide grazing land for livestock and attract tourists with their scenery.