A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a more resistant layer or layers of harder rock, e.g. shales overlain by sandstones. The resistant layer acts as a caprock that forms the flat summit of a mesa. The caprock can consist of either sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone; dissected lava flows; or a deeply eroded duricrust. Unlike plateau, whose usage does not imply horizontal layers of bedrock, e.g. Tibetan Plateau, the term mesa applies exclusively to the landforms built of flat-lying strata. Instead, flat-topped plateaus are specifically known as tablelands.
Bailang County, located in the south of Tibet Autonomous region, belongs to Xigaze City, Tibet Autonomous region. The geographical location is 28 °17 degrees north latitude 29 °18 'north latitude and 88 °53 degrees east longitude 89 °25' longitude. The total area is 2489 square kilometers. In 2013, Bailang County had a total population of 40,000. The city of Bailang County is 49 kilometers north of Xigaze City and 45 kilometers south of Jiangzi. Rijiang Highway runs through the county seat. Bailang County, 49 kilometers north of Xigaze City, has jurisdiction over 11 townships (towns) and 114administrative villages, with an average elevation of 4200 meters, and the county seat is 3890 meters above sea level. In 2013, the gross domestic product of Bailang County reached 356 million yuan, the proportion of primary, secondary and tertiary production was 40.8, 1.4 and 7.8, the per capita GDP was 8129.36 yuan, and the investment in social fixed assets was 1.3.