Dissected plateau this plateau are known as mesas, and long, connected portions are known as potreros. Dissected plateau A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, metamorphism, extensive faulting, or magmatic activity that accompanies orogeny. The Allegheny Plateau, the Cumberland Plateau, the Ozark Plateau, and the Catskill Mountains in the United States and the Blue Mountains in Australia and the Deccan Plateau in India are examples of dissected plateaus
Geography of Switzerland Swiss Plateau. The Swiss Plateau is crossed by three great river valleys (Rhône, Rhine and Aare) and the smaller Thur valley. While the headwaters of these four rivers all lie in the Alps, they all cut across the plateau between the Alps and the Jura mountains. Near Schaffhausen the Rhine passes through the Rhine Falls, Europe's largest waterfall. The Rhine Falls are wide and . The plateau occupies about one third of the land area of Switzerland, and about two thirds of the population live in this area. The population density on the plateau averages about 450 people per km