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You are here: Home / Geography / What Is the Difference Between Plateaus, Mesas, and Buttes and Where Are They Found In the United States?

What Is the Difference Between Plateaus, Mesas, and Buttes and Where Are They Found In the United States?

February 15, 2020 by Karen Hill

A plateau is an elevated area that spreads over a large region.

A mesa, from the Spanish word for table, is a plateau that drops steeply off on all sides.

A butte is a smaller mesa and is formed when a mesa erodes.

If you visit the Four Corners area of the United States, the place where New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah meet, you’ll see many of these unusual landforms.

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Filed Under: Geography

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Is a Tectonic Plate and How Many Tectonic Plates Are There On Earth?
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