Which plateau is the largest plateau in the world?
The ice and snow plateau is the Antarctic, and Antarctica is the coldest place in the world. A vast area from 66.5 degrees to 90 degrees south latitude. Because it belongs to the polar region, the sun's rays are the weakest, so it is the coldest. Because Antarctica is a continent, it is much colder than the Arctic. Even in the southern hemisphere summer (December to March) it is more than minus 30 degrees.
Therefore, the entire continent of Antarctica is covered in ice and snow. The original altitude of Antarctica was not very high, but the snow gradually formed a thick layer of ice covering the Antarctic land. This layer of ice is more than 2,000 meters long and wraps Antarctica into a plateau. Therefore, this is how the Ice and Snow Plateau got its name. It is also the largest plateau in the world. It covers an area of 12.8 million square kilometers. It is more than twice the size of the Brazilian Plateau, which is generally referred to as the "largest plateau". It is only because this icy continent is uninhabited that people call the Brazilian Plateau the largest plateau.
The Brazilian Plateau
It is a vast plateau located in Brazil in eastern South America. It covers an area of more than 5 million square kilometers and is the second largest plateau in the world (after Antarctica). Ice and snow plateau).
Geographical environment
Topography
The Brazilian Plateau is located in the eastern part of the South American continent, between 5° and 30° south latitude, bordering the Amazon Plain to the north and the Amazon Plain to the west. It is connected to the Andes foothills, the La Plata plain to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The Brazilian Plateau is an ancient plateau developed on the Brazilian continental platform. The ancient basement rock system is composed of granite, gneiss, schist, phyllite and quartzite. The surface undulations are relatively gentle, and the terrain slopes to the north and northwest. Most of it has the characteristics of an ascending peneplain, with an altitude between 300 and 1,500 meters.
Folding geology and landforms
Due to the different specific conditions, degree of uplift and lithology of each part of the structure, there are obvious differences in topographic characteristics. The eastern part (east of the San Francisco River) belongs to the Atlantic Shield, which was once affected by the folding movement of the Proterozoic and the faulting and uplift of the Neogene. After a long period of erosion and peneplaining, the current undulating plateau was formed.
Climate
The plateau crosses the subtropical zone in the south and is close to the earth's equator, so the climate is hot, the seasonal distribution of precipitation is relatively even and the amount is large, and it belongs to the tropical grassland climate. It mainly grows tropical savanna plants and is an area rich in South American cedars.
The most widely distributed climate in the Brazilian plateau is the savanna climate, followed by the tropical rainforest climate, and the smallest distributed climate is the subtropical humid climate. There are high ridged mountains in the eastern part of the Brazilian plateau, forming large cliffs along the Atlantic coast from Rio de Janeiro to Santos. The big cliff carries the plateau on its back and faces the ocean. Viewed from a distance from the Atlantic, it looks like a copper wall standing on the other side of the ocean.
Mineral Resources
The Brazilian Plateau is not only an important producing area for agriculture and animal husbandry in Brazil, but is also rich in iron, manganese, diamond and other mineral deposits. The plateau is particularly rich in mineral resources, containing iron, manganese, lead, zinc, chromium, nickel, tin, quartz crystal, mica and other mineral deposits. Among them, the "Iron Ore Four Corners Area" centered on Itabira is a world-famous high-quality large-scale iron ore area. The plateau in the Paraná River Basin south of 20°S is covered with large areas of lava.
Plateau Life
Brazil is divided into five climate zones: the humid equatorial zone, the humid tropics, the semi-humid tropics, the semi-arid tropics and the humid subtropics. The average temperature rises slowly from south to north. However, although the Amazon basin is located in the equatorial zone, the temperature is not as high as people imagine, with the average temperature not exceeding 27°C and the maximum temperature not exceeding 36°C. The average temperature in plateau cities such as Brasilia and Sao Paulo is only 19°C, and the climate is pleasant. In the southern subtropical region, the average temperature is 16°C-20°C. In some high-lying places, the average temperature is only 10°C. It sometimes snows in winter. But humidity is quite high across Brazil, especially along the coast. Annual rainfall varies from region to region. The highest annual rainfall in the humid equatorial Amazon is 1,500 mm to 2,500 mm. Only August to October is the rainy season.
Some Brazilians live on the Brazilian plateau because of the good climate and rich products. Brazil is a country of immigrants from Europeans, and Europe can find similar weather to their country from the plateau. For example, Portoalegre in the south is a well-known German settlement. Brazil's largest states, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, are where plains and plateaus meet. It does not belong entirely to the plains nor entirely to the plateau. Brasilia is at the center of the Brazilian plate. The original capital of Rio was moved here due to the comprehensive consideration of promoting the development of the national economy and politics and the poor public security in Rio.