Unlike most plateaus formed by volcanic activity or tectonic uplift, the Loess Plateau is a product of wind deposition. During the Pleistocene epoch, powerful winds from the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts carried enormous quantities of fine dust eastward. When the wind speed dropped, the dust settled, slowly building up a plateau that is, in some places, 300 meters deep. This makes it a unique geographical feature—a “plateau of dust.” Its soft, silty nature makes it highly fertile but also incredibly vulnerable to water erosion, which has carved the plateau into its current rugged, gully-filled state.