In geology and physical geography , a plateau ( / p l ə ˈ t oʊ , p l æ ˈ t oʊ , ˈ p l æ t oʊ / ; French: [plato] ; pl. : plateaus or plateaux ), also called a high plain or a tableland , is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides have deep hills or escarpments . Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma , extrusion of lava , and erosion by water and glaciers . Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment as intermontane, piedmont, or continental. A few plateaus may have a small flat top while others have wider ones.
40-679: The Illawarra escarpment , or officially the Illawarra Range , is the fold-created cliffs and plateau -eroded outcrop mountain range west of the Illawarra coastal plain south of Sydney , in the state of New South Wales , Australia . The range encloses the Illawarra region which stretches from Stanwell Park in the north to Kiama , Gerringong and the Shoalhaven River in the south. Bells Hill, west of Knights Hill ,
80-670: A Clifton-Scarborough public school, and finished in 1914. It was opened by the Minister for Education of the time. From 1 January 1915, the Clifton Public School was renamed Scarborough Public School. In 1952, an employee at South Clifton Tunnel Colliery, said that the mine was under the control of the Operations Branch of the Joint Coal Board who were in the process of upgrading to enable it to supply
120-553: 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,
160-542: A significant haven for species that have been affected by environmental disturbances such as development and bushfire. There are currently 12 threatened animal species in the area. The escarpment also contains many historic sites such as mine entrances and passes. The escarpment contains the Illawarra Escarpment Subtropical Rainforest (S_RF01) ecological community, which has been declared an endangered ecological community, under
200-505: A wide variety of native flora and fauna and is a haven for many forms of wildlife. It is known for the Illawarra Flame Tree with its bright foliage, as well as rare surviving red cedar trees that haven't been logged. On Saddleback Mountain and at Minnamurra Rainforest and other places there are remnant localities of rainforest bushland, as well as, to the north, dry sclerophyll forests. The southern typical bush meets
240-562: Is a group of telecommunications antennae, including amateur radio repeaters. Plateau Plateaus can be formed by 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
280-486: Is a problem, with many areas invaded by lantana and other invasive weeds. Maddens Plains (also written as Madden's Plains) was named after John Madden who arrived from Ireland in 1850 at the age of 11. The "address locality" of Maddens Plains is defined as a suburb of the City of Wollongong , "about 1 km N of Scarborough and about 7 km E of Southend [trig] Station". At the 2021 census , it had no population. There
320-622: 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
360-575: Is private property or owned by mining companies like BHP . Well known and popular lookouts such as at Mount Keira and Bald Hill are reserves or parks, the Mount Keira Summit Park is an annexe of the Wollongong Botanic Garden like Puckeys Estate Reserve on the plain. There are many walking tracks and lookouts with views of the surrounding countryside to the south, or suburbs to the north and coastal villages to
400-542: Is sandstone, with many Hawkesbury sandstone boulders and ledges visible in addition to the actual cliffs. Its maximum heights are reached in the south, west of Albion Park at Knights Hill, 709 metres (2,326 ft), and Mount Murray, 768 metres (2,520 ft). This forms the eastern edge of the Southern Highlands plateau, uplifted along with the Blue Mountains around 70 million years ago. Many of
440-710: 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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#1732775404908480-545: 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
520-426: Is the highest point in the range at 803 metres (2,635 ft) AHD on the range's plateau; with a number of other peaks on the escarpment ranging from 300 metres (980 ft) to a maximum of 768 metres (2,520 ft) at Mount Murray southwest of Dapto . The escarpment or scarp was created between 225 and 280 million years ago and since eroded by creeks to its present height around 30 million years ago. Most of it
560-572: 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,
600-895: 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,
640-586: 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
680-408: 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
720-567: 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
760-688: 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 ,
800-693: The New South Wales TSC Act. Geographically it stretches from the white cliffs of the Royal National Park and its northern hilly ridge formations like Bulgo and Otford Hills and Stony Batter, Undola Ridge and Bald Hill, south past the Otford Valley to the west and around an eroded valley containing Stanwell Park, then it goes south, featuring cliffs and running close to the coastal headlands, approximately 300 metres (1,000 ft) above sea level at Scarborough to
840-721: 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
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#1732775404908880-588: The escarpment: Saddleback Mountain Road only reaches the summit after a short, steep, turnoff, but was once part of Hoddles Track, which is now only in existence in a small ridge track from the summit but used to extend west to the Southern Highlands. Numerous areas are protected as part of the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area or as state forests such as Kembla State Forest southwest of Wollongong. However, much
920-549: The far north, and bushland and suburbs to the north. There are several well-known lookouts, such as Bald Hill , Bulli Pass , Sublime Point and Mount Keira, as well as lesser known tracks with views such as Hoddles Track west of Saddleback Mountain. Some tracks have gone into disrepair such as the Wodi Wodi track at Stanwell Park , but some such as the Mount Keira Ring Track have been upgraded. Weed infestation
960-674: 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
1000-492: 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
1040-534: The largest lake in South America. [REDACTED] Media related to Plateaus at Wikimedia Commons Scarborough, New South Wales Scarborough ( / s k ɑːr b ə r oʊ / ) is a small northern seaside suburb of Wollongong on the south coast of New South Wales , Australia . It sits in the northern Illawarra region on a narrow stretch between the Illawarra escarpment and sea cliffs. The Scarborough Hotel, opened in 1887, still stands. It
1080-601: 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
1120-467: The new Tallawarra Power Station then being built. In 1954 mechanical pillar extraction of coal commenced at Scarborough. In 1963 the jubilee of the school was celebrated. Scarborough has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Scarborough hosts a number of surfing competitions. It has a railway station and Scarborough Public School is the town's public primary school. The town used to be called South Clifton but in 1903, to avoid confusion between
1160-704: The north the range is mostly a coastal ridge east of Otford , becoming a cliff at Mount Mitchell, and continuing to include an eroded cliff at its top until Bulli Pass where it becomes rounded, forming Woonona Mountain, until Brokers Nose where the cliff reappears, before appearing again on the edge of Mount Keira and Warra, disappearing until west of Dapto where it forms the famous southern escarpment and curves in for Macquarie Pass National Park and Mount Murray at 768 metres (2,520 ft) before turning into Knights Hill at 709 metres (2,326 ft) and then forming Noorinan promontory, its summit at 663 metres (2,175 ft), and Saddleback Mountains. There are several passes over
1200-462: The northern at Mount Kembla , creating a unique effect. Many native species thrive here such as wallabies , brushtail possums and gliding possums , frogs , goannas , brush turkeys , flying foxes , snakes , bower birds , glossy black cockatoos and other colourful parrots , owls and native birds of prey . The area also has many introduced species including fallow deer , red deer , rabbits , feral cats and red foxes . It also acts as
1240-677: The plateau to the west and 709 metres (2,326 ft) at Knights Hill, just over 663 metres (2,175 ft) at Noorinan Mountain and about 600 metres (2,000 ft) at Saddleback Mountain. It is mostly of hard sandstone, with outcrops like Mount Keira and Mount Kembla rising above 450 metres (1,480 ft). There are many tracks to the top of such summits including the southern tip of the escarpment, Saddleback Mountain and Noorinan Mountain promontory. The flora ranges from northern and southern eucalypts and at Mount Kembla fuses, providing an interesting phenomena. The range has much history, including Hoddles Track which used to go to Bowral from Kiama. To
Illawarra escarpment - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-480: The promontory at Knights Hill at 709 metres (2,326 ft), south including Jamberoo Mountain and east to Noorinan Mountain promontory at Barren Grounds Plateau, then along a ridge to its southern tip, Saddleback Mountain. The Cambewarra Range is considered a separate, yet related, geological formation that continues around the Noorinan promontory and continues around Kangaroo Valley . It ranges in height from
1320-760: The railway stations, it was renamed. The escarpment behind Scarborough is approximately 300 metres above sea level. Scarborough is home to the Northern Suburbs Rugby League Club known as the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs' home ground is the Jim Allen Oval located in Monash St, the same road as Scarborough Beach. The Norths Bulldogs as they are commonly known were runners up in the 2013 Illawarra Coal Shield Competition. The Bulldogs often see spectator numbers for home games easily surpass
1360-866: 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
1400-480: 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
1440-567: The tops of Bald Hill and Stony Batter around 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level, to 440 metres (1,440 ft) at Brokers Nose, generally above 350 metres (1,150 ft) high south of Mount Ousley Road (between Keira and Brokers Nose) it reaches 464 metres (1,522 ft) at Mount Keira, 464 metres (1,522 ft) at Mount Warra, 469 metres (1,539 ft) at Mount Brisbane, 531 metres (1,742 ft) at Mount Burelli, 512 metres (1,680 ft) at Kembla West, 534 metres (1,752 ft) at Mount Kembla, 564 metres (1,850 ft) at Wanyambilli Hill on
1480-436: The towns on the coastal plain adjacent to the escarpment were first founded to harvest the cedar trees on the slopes of the escarpment or the coal seams beneath it. With the original logging industry of the area came the need for passes over the escarpment, creating such ones as Rixons Pass , Bulli Pass , O'Briens Road and Macquarie Pass . The city of Wollongong is the central city in the Illawarra. The escarpment contains
1520-468: The turn at Sublime Point at 415 metres (1,362 ft) near Thirroul , south to Brokers Nose at 440 metres (1,440 ft) promontory, south to Mount Keira , which juts out from the main cliffs, south to a similar eroded sandstone outcrop, Mount Kembla at 534 metres (1,752 ft), then southwest along the Dapto scarp cliffs including Mount Bong Bong to the turn inland at Macquarie Pass, then back east to
1560-556: Was named the Scarborough Hotel at the time, before the name stuck to the town itself. The South Clifton (Scarborough) Mine was opened in 1891 by the Illawarra Coal Company, and closed in 1921. A new adit was established about 2 kilometres further south and this came to be known as South Clifton Tunnel Colliery. From 1898 to 1908 a post office was operated at the railway station. In 1913 construction began on
1600-605: 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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