There are two plateaus in Pakistan.
The land surface of Pakistan is an amalgamation of varying physical properties of the earth surface, i.e., from seashore to deserts, plains and plateaus to finally towering pinnacles rising to 28,000 feet and more. The plains of Pakistan include coastal area, upper and lower Indus plain, the Balochistan Plateau, Salt Range and Potwar Plateau. Pakistan, a mostly a dry country characterized by extremes of altitude and temperature, has three main river basins: Indus, Kharan and Mekran. The Indus Plain extends principally along the eastern side of the river, and the Balochistan Plateau lies to the south-west. Four other topographic areas are the narrow coastal plain bordering the Arabian Sea; the Thar Desert on the border with India; the mountains of the north and north-west; and the Kharan Basin, to the west of the Balochistan Plateau.
Balochistan Plateau: The area west of the Suleman and Kirthar mountains constitutes the Balochistan Plateau, located on an average height of 600-900 metres. To the west, mountains of Toba Karrar and Chagai separate Balochistan from the neighbouring Afghanistan. Due to absence of any meaningful rains, the north western part of the plateau is generally sandy and lifeless. However, sterams of water gush into the area if it rains. Devoid of any major river, Zhob River which has its headway in the Suleman mountains, falls into Gomal River. Hamman Mashkhel Lake is a salt water lake in the area. Coal, natural gas, chromites, iron and copper are some of the minerals that abound the Balochistan Plateau.
Coastal Area: The coastal area of Pakistan stretches along the Arabian Sea for some 1000 km from the marshy Rann of Kutch to Iran in the west. The Makran (Urdu: مکران) Coast Range forms a narrow strip of mountains along about 75 percent of the total coast length, or about 800 km. The name of the area might have been derived from Persian "mah-i-khoran" (fish eaters), Sumerian "magan", or Parthic "makuran". The steep mountains along the coastline rise to an elevation of up to 1,500 m . The coast of Makran possesses only one island, Astola Island, near Pasni, and several insignificant islets. The coastline can be divided into an eastern lagoon coastline and a western embayed coastline. The main lagoons are Miani Hor and Kalamat Hor. The main bays of the embayed coast are Gwadar West Bay and Gwatar Bay. This latter bay shelters a large mangrove forest and the nesting grounds of endangered turtle species.
Two ancient Harappan era settlements have been found at Sutkagen dor (on Dasht River)and Sokhta Koh (astride Shadi River). The coastal sites are evidence of trade between Harappan and Sumerian cities as well as those of the Gulf region. Makran was conquered by Cyrus in 530 BC. One of the earliest historical references to the area is the crossing by the army of Alexander the Great during its return from South Asia, as recorded in the journals of Nearchos. According to Nearchos, Alexander had wanted to surpass the achievements of Queen Semiramis and Cyrus the Great, whose attempts to cross the desert with armies had ended in disaster. However it has also been suggested it was necessary to take this route to travel in support of the Greek fleet. According to Plutarch, only one quarter of the Alexander's army survived the journey.
The Arabs settled in Makran in 643, and Muhamad ben Qasim Al Thakafi introduced Islam there in 711. According to the Moslim geographers of that time, Makran was a desert and hostile land. In Xth century, the Afghan Ghaznevid dynasty established in Makran a vassal Emirate to gain an access to the sea. The Ghorid dynasty did the same in 1186. In 1290, Marco Polo sailed along the coast of Makran and mentioned "Kesmacoran", ruled by a Baluch king. In 17th century, a local ruler, the Khan of Kalat, offered the area to the Sultan of Musqat, who appointed a "wali", a kind of Governor-Resident. In 1958, the Sultan of Oman sold the territory to Pakistan, which incorporated it into the province of Balochistan.