A flat elevated landform; used in geography and everyday description.
This plateau is said to have been the bottom of the sea long ago.
A wide pasture spreads across the top of the plateau.
A vast plateau extends across this region.
The plateau was formed by volcanic activity.
There is an old shrine on top of the plateau.
平地 is flat land in general that need not be elevated, whereas 台地 specifically denotes elevated flat terrain.
台地 is the formal geological term for a plateau or tableland, whereas 高台 is the everyday word for any raised, elevated spot.
低地 is low-lying land, the opposite of 台地 which sits at a higher elevation with a flat top.
高台 is a more general term for any raised area or elevated spot, while 台地 is a specific geographic term for a broad, flat-topped landform.
台地 is a standalone noun for 'plateau' usable on its own, whereas 平 functions only as a place-name suffix and cannot stand alone.
Compound of 台 (dai, 'platform') and 地 (chi, 'land'), literally 'platform land'.