"Situated" vs. "located"

I found the following example in my vocabulary:

The town is situated on a plateau high up among the mountains of the north.

Can I replace situated with located for the example above? What's the difference?

Yes, the replacement works fine. I can't think of a difference other than that located might be slightly more standard in the parts of the US that I've lived in.

For what it's worth, you don't really need either of the two words here,

The town is on a plateau high up among the mountains of the north.

is not at all ambiguous.

For this example, the two words are interchangeable.
There are other usages of "situated" (especially when referring to something being "well-situated") where "located" would not be a suitable replacement, but "positioned" might be appropriate. For example, "He was well-situated to take advantage of the ensuing mayhem."

The two words can be used almost interchangeably. Located simply refers to where something is. Situated is a bit more specific and most often refers to an environment rather than just to an address.

Located at 101 Glory Street

or

Situated on a tree-lined boulevard in a tony office park

Located would work with the second example, but situated would sound stilted in the first.