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49-604: The Dorrigo Plateau is a plateau in the Northern Tablelands and New England regions of New South Wales , Australia . The plateau forms part of the Great Dividing Range and is sometimes referred to as the Dorrigo and Guy Fawkes Plateau . The highest peak on the plateau is Barren Mountain , at an elevation of 1,437 metres (4,715 ft) AHD . The plateau is defined by that area bounded in

98-434: A flood basalt plateau began to form, piling layers upon layers of voluminous fissure-fed basaltic lava flows. Most of the flows were tholeiitic , save for a thin layer of alkali basalts and minor amounts of felsic (high-silica) volcanic rocks, such as rhyolite . In the waning stages of the flood basalt episode, large explosive caldera -forming eruptions also occurred. The Ethiopian Highlands were eventually bisected by

147-440: A number of endemic wildlife species, including the endangered walia ibex ( Capra walie ) and the gelada baboon, whose thick fur allows it to thrive in the cooler climates of the mountains. These two species are only found on the northern side of the valley, while another rare endemic, the mountain nyala ( Tragelaphus buxtoni ) is restricted to the southern side, and now survives at higher altitudes than its original habitat since

196-438: A number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, plate tectonics movements, and erosion by water and glaciers. Volcanic plateaus are produced by volcanic activity . The Columbia Plateau in the north-western United States is an example. They may be formed by upwelling of volcanic magma or extrusion of lava. The underlining mechanism in forming plateaus from upwelling starts when magma rises from

245-553: A river was already there, though not necessarily on exactly the same course. Then, subterranean geological forces caused the land in that part of North America to gradually rise by about a centimeter per year for millions of years. An unusual balance occurred: the river that would become the Colorado River was able to erode into the crust of the Earth at a nearly equal rate to the uplift of the plateau. Now, millions of years later,

294-459: A road, now roughly following the same path as the present Grafton to Armidale Road and travelling through the present day villages of Nymboida , Billy's Creek, Dundurrabin, Tyringham and Ebor , the latter with an elevation of 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) AHD . Timbergetters followed Craig through the sub tropical rainforest and many sawmills grew due to demand for timber, initially the highly prized Australian Red Cedar ( Toona australis ). Today,

343-590: Is an open woodland found at lower elevations, and dominated by species of Terminalia , Commiphora , Boswellia , and Acacia . Weyna dega is a woodland found in moister and higher locations, dominated by the conifers Afrocarpus gracilior and Juniperus procera . The lower portion of the Harenna Forest is a distinct woodland community, with an open canopy of Warburgia ugandensis , Croton macrostachyus , Syzygium guineense , and Afrocarpus gracilior , with wild coffee ( Coffea arabica ) as

392-620: Is common on the Sanetti Plateau in the Bale Mountains . The mountain nyala finds its way up to the high moorlands although it is more common at lower elevations. Wintering birds include wigeon ( Anas penelope ), shoveler ( Anas clypeata ), ruff ( Philomachus pugnax ), and greenshank ( Tringa nebularia ). Other fauna in the area also includes aardvark , eagle , Egyptian wolf, gelada , secretarybird , Nubian ibex , and marabou stork and Ethiopian endemic species such as

441-622: Is divided into three main flat regions: the Bogotá savanna , the valleys of Ubaté and Chiquinquirá , and the valleys of Duitama and Sogamoso . The parallel Sierra of Andes delimit one of the world highest plateaux: the Altiplano , (Spanish for "high plain"), Andean Plateau or Bolivian Plateau. It lies in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet. The bulk of

490-827: Is known as the Harar Massif. Its bounded in the west, by the fault line of the Rift Valley, in the east, by the Ogaden Lowlands and in the south, by the Elkerie and Borena Lowlands. Its highest peaks are located in the Bale Zone of Ethiopia's Oromia Region . The Bale Mountains , also designated a national park , are nearly as high as those of Semien. It is the main source of the Wabishebelle and Genalle (Juba). The range includes peaks of over 4,000 m. Among

539-710: Is sometimes called the Roof of Africa due to its height and large area. Another example is the Highveld which is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above approximately 1,500 metres, but below 2,100 metres, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions. It is home to some of the largest South African urban agglomerations . In Egypt are the Giza Plateau and Galala Mountain , which

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588-545: Is the Scottish Highlands . Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment. The highest African plateau is the Ethiopian Highlands which cover the central part of Ethiopia. It forms the largest continuous area of its altitude in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1,500 metres (4,921 ft), while the summits reach heights of up to 4,550 metres (14,928 ft). It

637-572: Is the home of more than 70 million people. The Western Plateau , part of the Australian Shield , is an ancient craton covering much of the continent's southwest, an area of some 700,000 square kilometres. It has an average elevation between 305 and 460 metres. The North Island Volcanic Plateau is an area of high land occupying much of the centre of the North Island of New Zealand, with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes,

686-545: Is the largest of the highland ecoregions, occupying the area between 1,800 and 3,000 meters elevation. The natural vegetation was closed-canopy forest in moister areas, and grassland, bushland, and thicket in drier areas. However these hillsides have good fertile soil and are heavily populated, largely by farming communities, so most of the region has been converted to agriculture with a few areas of natural vegetation remaining. Urban areas in this ecoregion include: Ethiopia's capital city and Africa's fourth largest city Addis Ababa ,

735-585: Is the town of Dorrigo , 580 kilometres (360 mi) north of the Sydney and 60 kilometres (37 mi) from the coastal city of Coffs Harbour . Richard Craig was the first European to arrive at the plateau, following the traditional indigenous route to Armidale from the Grafton area. Using his skills as a horseman, Craig travelled along the western side of the Nymboida River. Craig's track became

784-604: The Amhara Region capital Bahir Dar with its island monasteries on Lake Tana , the old walled city of Harar , the spa town of Ambo , Asella in the Arsi Zone , the trekking center of Dodola , the lakeside Bishoftu , the largest city in the southwest Jimma , the market town of Nekemte , and the capital of the Tigray Region , Mek'ele . Awash National Park is a site for birdwatching. Remaining woodland in

833-895: The Deccan Plateau (≈1,900,000 km (730,000 sq mi), elevation 300–600 metres (980–1,970 ft)). A large plateau in North America is the Colorado Plateau , which covers about 337,000 km (130,000 sq mi) in Colorado , Arizona , New Mexico , and Utah . In northern Arizona and southern Utah the Colorado Plateau is bisected by the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon . This came to be over 10 million years ago,

882-586: The Deccan Plateau in India and the Meseta Central on the Iberian Peninsula . Plateaus can also be formed by the erosional processes of glaciers on mountain ranges, leaving them sitting between the mountain ranges. Water can also erode mountains and other landforms down into plateaus. Dissected plateaus are highly eroded plateaus cut by rivers and broken by deep narrow valleys. An example

931-636: The East African mountains further south. The evergreen broadleaved forest of the Semien Mountains , between 2,300 and 2,700 meters elevation, is dominated by Syzygium guineense , Arundinarial, Juniperus procera , and Olea africana . As the lower slopes of the mountains are so heavily populated, even the high altitude moorlands are affected by human interference, such as the grazing of livestock and even farming. There are two protected areas of high moorland: Bale Mountains National Park in

980-568: The Ethiopia-Yemen Continental Flood Basalts . Contrary to what has been suggested for much of Africa, planation surfaces in northern Ethiopia do not appear to be pediplains nor etchplains . Spatial distribution of temperature in Ethiopia is determined primarily by altitude and latitude. Altitude is the main factor that determines the spatial distribution of temperature in Ethiopia. Ethiopia lies within

1029-784: The Main Ethiopian Rift , which contains a number of salt lakes. The northwestern portion, known as the Abyssinian Massif, includes the Semien Mountains , part of which has been designated the Simien Mountains National Park . Its summit, Ras Dashen (4,550 m), is the highest peak in Ethiopia. Lake Tana , the source of the Blue Nile , also lies in the northwestern portion of the Ethiopian Highlands. The southeastern portion

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1078-531: The Mediterranean climate that they knew. The Ethiopian Highlands share a similar flora and fauna to other mountainous regions of Africa; this distinctive flora and fauna is known as Afromontane , but from the time of the last ice age the region has been populated with some Eurasian ( palearctic ) flora. The habitats are somewhat different on either side of the Great Rift Valley which splits

1127-517: The equator , this has resulted in giving this country an unexpectedly temperate climate . Further, these mountains catch the precipitation of the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean , resulting in a rainy season that lasts from June until mid-September. These heavy rains cause the Nile to flood in the summer , a phenomenon that puzzled the ancient Greeks , as the summer is the driest season in

1176-408: The mantle , causing the ground to swell upward. In this way, large, flat areas of rock are uplifted to form a plateau. For plateaus formed by extrusion, the rock is built up from lava spreading outward from cracks and weak areas in the crust. Tectonic plateaus are formed by tectonic plate movements which cause uplift, and are normally of a considerable size, and a fairly uniform altitude. Examples are

1225-567: The " Roof of the World ", which is still being formed by the collisions of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates . The Tibetan Plateau covers approximately 2,500,000 km (970,000 sq mi), at about 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea level. The plateau is sufficiently high to reverse the Hadley cell convection cycles and to drive the monsoons of India towards

1274-688: The Altiplano lies within Bolivian and Peruvian territory while its southern parts lie in Chile. The Altiplano plateau hosts several cities like Puno, Oruro, El Alto and La Paz the administrative seat of Bolivia. Northeastern Altiplano is more humid than the Southwestern, the latter of which hosts several salares , or salt flats, due to its aridity. At the Bolivia-Peru border lies Lake Titicaca ,

1323-630: The Earth's mantle uplifted a broad dome of the ancient rocks of the Arabian-Nubian Shield . The opening of the Great Rift Valley split the dome of the Ethiopian Highlands into three parts; the mountains of the southern Arabian Peninsula are geologically part of the ancient Ethiopian Highlands, separated by the rifting which created the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and separated Africa from Arabia. Around 30 million years ago,

1372-586: The Great Rift Valley as the African continental crust pulled apart. This rifting gave rise to large alkaline basalt shield volcanoes beginning about 30–31 million years ago. The northern Ethiopian Highlands contain four discernible planation surfaces , the oldest one being formed not later than in the Ordovician Period. The youngest surface formed in the Cenozoic , being partly covered by

1421-721: The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is at an elevation of about 2,450 m (8,040 ft) above sea level , and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about 2,150 m (7,050 ft) above sea level. At its deepest, the Colorado River is about 1,830 m (6,000 ft) below the level of the North Rim. Another high-altitude plateau in North America is the Mexican Plateau . With an area of 601,882 km (232,388 sq mi) and average height of 1,825 metres, it

1470-456: The dominant understory shrub. The southwesterly winds bring rainfall from May to October with moisture from the Red Sea coming in from the east year round. Fauna at these elevations includes the endemic Harwood's spurfowl ( Pternistis harwoodi ), Prince Ruspoli's turaco ( Tauraco ruspolii ) and yellow-throated seedeater ( Serinus flavigula ) The Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands

1519-474: The drier areas contains much endemic flora and primarily consists of the conifers Afrocarpus falcatus and Juniperus procera , often with the broadleaved Hagenia abyssinica . In the Harenna Forest , pockets of moist, closed-canopy forest with Aningeria and Olea are draped with lianas and epiphytes , while above 2400 meters, a shrubby zone is home to Hagenia , Astropanax , and giant lobelias ( Lobelia gibberroa ), species which can be found on

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1568-500: The finch Ankober serin ( Serinus ankoberensis ), white-winged flufftail ( Sarothrura ayresi ), and blue-winged goose . The farmland is home to many butterflies, especially Papilio , Charaxinae , Pieridae and Lycaenidae . There are several endemic animal species, one of which, the Ethiopian wolf ( Canis simensis ), is critically endangered. Other endemics include the big-headed mole-rat ( Tachyoryctes macrocephalus ) which

1617-462: The former are Mount Tullu Demtu (4,337 m), which is the second-highest major independent mountain in Ethiopia, and Mount Batu (4,307 m). Most of the country's major cities are located at elevations of around 2,000–2,500 m (6,600–8,200 ft) above sea level, including Addis Ababa , Ethiopia's capital and largest city, and historic capitals such as Gondar and Axum . The Ethiopian Highlands began to rise 75 million years ago, as magma from

1666-674: The gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon , the Indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana . Tepuis can be considered minute plateaus and tend to be found as isolated entities rather than in connected ranges, which makes them the host of a unique array of endemic plant and animal species. Some of the most outstanding tepuis are Neblina , Autana , Auyan and Mount Roraima . They are typically composed of sheer blocks of Precambrian quartz arenite sandstone that rise abruptly from

1715-510: The high Ethiopian montane moorlands , the largest Afroalpine region in Africa. The montane moorlands lie above the tree line, and consist of grassland and moorland with abundant herbs and some shrubs that have adapted to the high mountain conditions. In Ethiopia, Afro-Alpine and Sub-Afro-Alpine vegetations are found in the Highlands of Semein and Highlands of Bale. These slopes are home to

1764-823: The highlands. At lower elevations, the highlands are surrounded by tropical savannas and grasslands , including the Sahelian Acacia savanna to the northwest and the East Sudanian savanna to the west. The highlands themselves are divided into three distinct ecoregions , distinguished by elevation. The Ethiopian montane forests lie between 1,100 and 1,800 meters elevation, above the lowland grasslands and savannas, and extend to areas of similar habitat in Eritrea, Sudan, and Djibouti. This woodland belt has several natural plant communities, but has mostly been heavily grazed and converted to agricultural use now. Kolla ,

1813-492: The jungle, giving rise to spectacular natural scenery. Auyán-tepui is the source of Angel Falls , the world's tallest waterfall . The Colombian capital city of Bogota sits on an Andean plateau known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense roughly the size of Switzerland. Averaging a height of 2,600 m (8,500 ft) above sea level, this northern Andean plateau is situated in the country's eastern range and

1862-675: The largest lake in South America. [REDACTED] Media related to Plateaus at Wikimedia Commons Ethiopian Highlands The Ethiopian Highlands (also called the Abyssinian Highlands ) is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa . It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1,500 m (4,900 ft), while

1911-585: The lower slopes are heavily farmed. More widespread mammals found here include the mantled guereza ( Colobus guereza ), which is also threatened as its habitat disappears as does that of many other mammals of the highlands such as olive baboon ( Papio anubis ), Egyptian wolf ( Canis aureus ), leopard ( Panthera pardus ), lion ( Panthera leo ), spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta ), caracal ( Caracal caracal ), serval ( Leptailurus serval ), common duiker ( Sylvicapra grimmia ), and giant forest hog ( Hylochoerus meinertzhageni ). Birds include Rueppell's chat ,

1960-551: The main access road traversing the plateau from east to west is the Waterfall Way . The Dorrigo Plateau and surrounding Guy Fawkes River National Park area was created by successive basaltic lava flows from the Ebor Volcano covering the original granite base. Weathering from high rainfall caused an escarpment to form as the more ancient rocks underneath remained intact. Plateau Plateaus can be formed by

2009-601: The most notable of which is the country's largest lake, Lake Taupō . The plateau stretches approximately 100 km east to west and 130 km north to south. The majority of the plateau is more than 600 metres above sea level. A tepui ( / ˈ t ɛ p w i / ), or tepuy ( Spanish: [teˈpuj] ), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana . The word tepui means "house of

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2058-550: The south by the Dorrigo Escarpment, in the west by the New England Tableland, in the north by Hyland State Forest, Blicks River , Glen Fernaigh Creek and Nymboida River , and in the east by Bielsdown River up to the junction with Mathews Creek, then up to the head of Mathews Creek, then by the watershed extending generally south southeast to Dome Mountain. Located on the eastern edge of the plateau

2107-866: The south. The Deosai Plains in Pakistan are situated at an average elevation of 4,114 meters (13,497 ft) above sea level. They are considered to be the second highest plateaus in the world. Other major plateaus in Asia are: Najd on the Arabian Peninsula , elevation 762 to 1,525 m (2,500 to 5,003 ft), Armenian Highlands (≈400,000 km (150,000 sq mi), elevation 900–2,100 metres (3,000–6,900 ft)), Iranian Plateau (≈3,700,000 km (1,400,000 sq mi), elevation 300–1,500 metres (980–4,920 ft)), Anatolian Plateau , Mongolian Plateau (≈2,600,000 km (1,000,000 sq mi), elevation 1,000–1,500 metres (3,300–4,900 ft)), and

2156-399: The southern highlands, accessible from Dinsho ; and Simien Mountains National Park , accessible from Gondar , which includes Ras Dashen. However, even these parks are losing habitat to livestock grazing, while the lower elevation parks ( Harar Wildlife Sanctuary , Awash National Park , Omo National Park , and Nechisar National Park ) are even less secure. Above 3,000 meters elevation lie

2205-597: The southern parts of the Ethiopian Highlands once was located the Kingdom of Kaffa , a medieval and early modern state, whence the coffee plant was exported to the Arabian Peninsula . The land of the former kingdom is mountainous with stretches of forest. The land is very fertile, capable of three harvests a year. The term coffee derives from the Arabic : قهوة ( qahwah ) and is traced to Kaffa. The Highlands are divided into northwestern and southeastern portions by

2254-659: The summits reach heights of up to 4,550 m (14,930 ft). It is sometimes called the " Roof of Africa" due to its height and large area. It is the only country in the region with such a high elevated surface. This elevated surface is bisected diagonally by the Great East African Rift System which extends from Syria to Mozambique across the East African Lakes. Most of the Ethiopian Highlands are part of central and northern Ethiopia, and its northernmost portion reaches into Eritrea . In

2303-416: The surrounding coastline through enormous glaciers . The polar ice cap is so massive that the echolocation measurements of ice thickness have shown that large areas are below sea level . But, as the ice melts, the land beneath will rebound through isostasy and ultimately rise above sea level. The largest and highest plateau in the world is the Tibetan Plateau , sometimes metaphorically described as

2352-423: The tropics, a zone of maximum insolation, where every place has overhead sun twice a year. However, considerable portions of Ethiopia are highland areas, and their altitudes give them non-tropical temperatures. Ethiopia's tropical climate occur in lowlands at the country's peripheries. The predominant climate of the Ethiopian Highlands is the Alpine climate . Because the highlands elevate Ethiopia, located close to

2401-467: Was once called Gallayat Plateaus, rising 3,300 ft above sea level. Another very large plateau is the icy Antarctic Plateau , which is sometimes referred to as the Polar Plateau or King Haakon VII Plateau, home to the geographic South Pole and the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station , which covers most of East Antarctica where there are no known mountains but rather 3,000 m (9,800 ft) high of superficial ice and which spreads very slowly toward

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