The Kaema Plateau is a

highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

. It is surrounded by the Rangrim Mountains, the Macheollyeong Mountains and the Bujeollyeong Mountains. Elevation varies between 700 and 2,000 meters and is approximately 40,000 square kilometers. The Kaema Plateau slopes downward towards the northern border of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and is the largest tableland in Korea; it is often called "The roof of Korea". In North Korea, the Kaema Plateau is divided into Kaema Plateau, Jagang Plateau, and Baekmu Plateau (in

Musan Musan County is a county in central North Hamgyong province, North Korea. It borders the People's Republic of China to the north, across the Tumen River. It is divided into one ''ŭp'', six labor districts, and fifteen ''ri''. The county seat ...

). Up to approximately one million years ago, the Kaema Plateau was an extension of the Manchurian plains, as such the Hochon River and

Changjin River Changjin County is a mountainous county in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea. Geography Changjin lies on the Rangrim and Pujŏllyong ranges, and most of the county sits atop the Kaema Plateau. Due to this location, Changjin has a particul ...

were tributaries of the

Songhua River The Songhua or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Changbai Mountains on the China–North Korea bo ...

, however basalt from

Baekdu Mountain Paektu Mountain (), also known as Baekdu Mountain and in China as Changbai Mountain ( zh, s=长白山, t=長白山; Manchu: Golmin Šanggiyan Alin), is an active stratovolcano on the Chinese–North Korean border. At , it is the highest moun ...

accumulated in

Changbai Korean Autonomous County Changbai Korean Autonomous County, or simply Changbai County (; Chosŏn'gŭl: 장백현; Hangul: 창바현) is a county in southern Jilin province, China, facing Hyesan, North Korea. It is under the administration of the city of Baishan, to ...

, directing the rivers into the Amnok River in modern times, consequently valleys were formed by the tributaries in the ensuing millennia. Some flat terrain still remains in some part in southeastern part of the plateau.

Geography and geology

Climate

It is one of the coldest areas of Korean Peninsula with elevation reaching as high as 1500m above sea level. During the winter months, the temperature can reach as low as −40 °C, with an average temperature around -17 °C.

Flora and fauna

The climate and terrain are ill-suited for human habitation, consequently the ecosystem and wildlife are relatively untouched in the Kaema Plateau. The area is a known habitat for many rare and endangered animals like

Siberian tiger The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies '' Panthera tigris tigris'' native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but currently inh ...

s, Amur leopards, Siberian lynx, wolves, bears, Ussuri dholes, Yellow-throated marten. Wild boar and deer subspecies are in the forests. Many wild birds such as

black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...

, owls, and woodpeckers are known to inhabit the area.

External links

bookrags.com
Landforms of North Korea Plateaus of Asia {{Topography-stub