Mesa vs. Plateau

Mesanoun

Flat area of land or plateau higher than other land, with one or more clifflike edges

‘A few more miles of hot sand and Little Colorado.’;

Plateaunoun

A largely level expanse of land at a high elevation; tableland.

Mesa

A high tableland; a plateau on a hill.

Plateaunoun

A comparatively stable level in something that varies.

Mesanoun

flat tableland with steep edges;

‘the tribe was relatively safe on the mesa but they had to descend into the valley for water’;

Plateaunoun

(dated) An ornamental dish for the table; a tray or salver.

Mesanoun

a city just east of Phoenix; originally a suburb of Phoenix

Plateaunoun

A notable level of attainment or achievement.

Mesanoun

an isolated flat-topped hill with steep sides, found in landscapes with horizontal strata.

Plateauverb

(intransitive) To reach a stable level; to level off.

Mesa

A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a more resistant layer or layers of harder rock, e.g.

Plateaunoun

A flat surface; especially, a broad, level, elevated area of land; a table-land.

Plateaunoun

An ornamental dish for the table; a tray or salver.

Plateaunoun

a relatively flat highland

Plateaunoun

an area of fairly level high ground.

Plateaunoun

denoting a group of North American peoples of the high plains of western Canada and the US, including the Nez Percé.

Plateaunoun

a state of little or no change following a period of activity or progress

‘the peace process had reached a plateau’;

Plateauverb

reach a state of little or no change after a period of activity or progress

‘the industry's problems have plateaued out’;

Plateau

In geology and physical geography, a plateau ( , , or ; French: [pla.to]; plural 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.