East African Plateau

East African Plateau is a huge plateau in the eastern part of central Africa in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Its elevation is mostly between 1000 and 1500 metres. It is subdivided into a number of zones running north and south and consisting in turn of mountain ranges, tablelands and depressions. The most striking feature is the existence of two great lines of depression, due largely to the subsidence of whole segments of the Earth's crust, the lowest parts of which are occupied by vast lakes. Towards the south the two lines converge and give place to one great valley (occupied by Lake Nyasa, or Lake Malawi), the southern part of which is less distinct due to rifting and subsidence than the rest of the system.