Nevadaplano
name ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A high-elevation orogenic plateau that once existed during the Tertiary period in what is modern North America’s Great Basin, analogous to today’s high-elevation South American altiplano.
"At the peak of its development, the retroarc side of the Cordillera was divided into five tectonomorphic zones, including from west to east the Luning-Fencemaker thrust belt; the central Nevada (or Eureka) thrust belt; a high-elevation plateau (the “Nevadaplano”); the topographically rugged Sevier fold-thrust belt; and the Laramide zone of intraforeland basement uplifts and basins."
Example
More examples"At the peak of its development, the retroarc side of the Cordillera was divided into five tectonomorphic zones, including from west to east the Luning-Fencemaker thrust belt; the central Nevada (or Eureka) thrust belt; a high-elevation plateau (the “Nevadaplano”); the topographically rugged Sevier fold-thrust belt; and the Laramide zone of intraforeland basement uplifts and basins."
Etymology
Blend of Nevada + altiplano. Coined by American geoscientist Peter G. DeCelles in a 2004 paper in the American Journal of Science.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.