page_title: Plain
section_title: Structural plains
hierarchical_section_title: Plain / Types of plain / Structural plains
caption_attribution_description: English: The Kakanui Range, seen from the Maniototo Plain near Ranfurly, New Zealand
context_page_description: In geography, a plain is a flat, sweeping landmass that generally does not change much in elevation. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or on the doorsteps of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands.
  In a valley, a plain is enclosed on two sides, but in other cases a plain may be delineated by a complete or partial ring of hills, by mountains, or by cliffs. Where a geological region contains more than one plain, they may be connected by a pass. Coastal plains would mostly rise from sea level until they run into elevated features such as mountains or plateaus.
  Plains are one of the major landforms on earth, where they are present on all continents, and would cover more than one-third of the world's land area. Plains may have been formed from flowing lava, deposited by water, ice, wind, or formed by erosion by these agents from hills and mountains. Plains would generally be under the grassland, steppe, savannah or tundra biomes. In a few instances, deserts and rainforests can also be plains.
context_section_description: Structural plains are relatively undisturbed horizontal surfaces of the Earth. They are structurally depressed areas of the world that make up some of the most extensive natural lowlands on the Earth's surface.
caption: The Kakanui Range dominates the eastern horizon of the Maniototo Plain
exif: {}