Mascarene Plateau
Okay, so imagine a big plate under the water. This plate is called the Mascarene Plateau. It's not really a plate like the one you eat on, but it's a big piece of Earth's crust that's underwater in the Indian Ocean.
This Mascarene Plateau is really unique because it was formed a looong time ago by volcanoes erupting and making mountains underwater. These mountains then got covered in sand and gravel and shells and all kinds of stuff, which made the plateau really flat on top.
Now, even though the Mascarene Plateau is underwater, it still affects the land around it! It's kind of like how if you put a toy block under a blanket, you can still feel it there. The Mascarene Plateau is close enough to some islands that it affects how the land there looks and how the water moves around them.
So, in summary, the Mascarene Plateau is a big, flat piece of Earth's crust under the ocean that was formed by underwater volcanoes a very long time ago. Even though it's underwater, it still affects things around it!
This Mascarene Plateau is really unique because it was formed a looong time ago by volcanoes erupting and making mountains underwater. These mountains then got covered in sand and gravel and shells and all kinds of stuff, which made the plateau really flat on top.
Now, even though the Mascarene Plateau is underwater, it still affects the land around it! It's kind of like how if you put a toy block under a blanket, you can still feel it there. The Mascarene Plateau is close enough to some islands that it affects how the land there looks and how the water moves around them.
So, in summary, the Mascarene Plateau is a big, flat piece of Earth's crust under the ocean that was formed by underwater volcanoes a very long time ago. Even though it's underwater, it still affects things around it!