云贵高原

　　云贵高原主要分布在云南、贵州省境内，面积约40万平方千米，平均海拔1,000～2,000米，是中国的第四大高原。

　　众多的河流穿插在云贵高原上，不停地切割地面，形成许多又深又陡的峡谷。云贵高原西高东低。云南境内的高原地形相对完整，多山间小盆地；贵州境内的高原地形支离破碎，崎岖不平，人们常用“地无三里平”来形容这种状况。

　　盆地内土层深厚而肥沃，是农业比较发达的地方，高原上的城镇也都集中在这里。

　　云贵高原分布广泛的喀斯特地貌，它是石灰岩在高温多雨的条件下，经过漫长的岁月，被水溶解和侵蚀而逐渐形成的。地下和地表分布许多溶洞、暗河、石芽、石笋、峰林等稀奇古怪的地貌。云贵高原是世界上喀斯特地貌发育最完美、最典型的地区之一。

　　The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau

　　With an area of about 400,000 km2 and an average altitude of 1,000-2,000 m, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau is located in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces and is the fourth largest plateau in China.

　　A great number of rivers have scoured many deep and steep valleys on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau as it descends from west to east. The terrain in Yunnan Province, where there are many basins among the mountains, is comparatively complete, while that of the plateau in Guizhou Province is bumpy and irregular, causing people to say that, "there is no flat ground within three li (Chinese unit of length - half a kilometer)".

　　The basins have deep and fertile soil where agriculture is well developed and towns are concentrated.

　　Karst topography is widely distributed on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Karst forms gradually after limestone is dissolved and eroded by water over a long period of time under the conditions of high temperature and plentiful rain. There are many caves, underground rivers, stone roots, stalagmites and other odd topography. The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau is one of the areas where the Karst topography has developed most completely and typically in the world.