as in plateau
a broad flat area of elevated land a cold wind from the Andes swept across the altiplano

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of altiplano In the Chilean altiplano above 12,000 feet, Meiburg spends one of the coldest nights of his life in a sleeping bag on the edge of a salt lagoon, staking out mountain caracaras known for working in groups to flip over heavy flat stones in search of edible creatures. Paul Kvinta, Outside Online, 2 Apr. 2021 The landscape changed around me; condensing from plains, desert, and mountains into the jungles of Central America, then unfolding in reverse, into the expanse of the altiplano. J.r. Patterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Feb. 2022 Which is why Steve Ruff, a planetary scientist at Arizona State University and a key player in the Home Plate analysis, traveled thousands of miles to El Tatio, a series of hot springs in the rare air of Chile’s altiplano. Jeffrey Marlow, Discover Magazine, 28 Nov. 2016 The world's largest salt flat covers 4,000 square miles of Bolivian altiplano. Anne Olivia Bauso, Travel + Leisure, 8 Dec. 2021 The terminal at El Alto International Airport may not have the best design or the most punctilious construction standards, but in the freezing predawn of this high plateau—the Andean altiplano—one could weep with gratitude that it is heated. Alma Guillermoprieto, The New York Review of Books, 3 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for altiplano
Noun
  • In eight of his 12 games, Johnson eclipsed the 100-yard plateau, including a 206-yard outburst against Minnesota.
    Mike DeFabo, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2025
  • The left image features the expansive Tharsis plateau and its chain of dormant volcanoes, including the colossal Olympus Mons, which can be seen towering above the Martian clouds.
    Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Crafted in the highlands of Jalisco by Maestra Tequilera Ana María Romero, one of Mexico’s most trusted, respected and awarded tequila authorities, produces a line of premium tequilas that includes blanco, reposado, añejo and cristalino.
    Claudia Alarcón, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Drama centers on a bored tuk-tuk driver who leaves his family in the highlands to work in the city.
    Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 7 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve Peak season: Mid-March to late April/May North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve encompasses a wide-open, 3,200-acre mesa near Oroville.
    Deb Hopewell, AFAR Media, 24 Mar. 2025
  • The two were close, living in the family’s home in a historic tribal village surrounded by high desert and mesas.
    Mary Hudetz, ProPublica, 27 Dec. 2022
Noun
  • The tableland was formed by volcanic eruptions about 700,000 years ago, according to the Bishop Chamber of Commerce and Information Center.
    Don Sweeney, Sacramento Bee, 11 Mar. 2025
  • It's located on the Cumberland Plateau — a 450-mile tableland that covers much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, with soaring sandstone walls, large boulders, and dramatic overhangs.
    Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 22 July 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Altiplano.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/altiplano. Accessed 3 May. 2025.

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