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.
Boshan District, which belongs to Zibo City, Shandong Province, is located in the middle of Shandong Province, in the north of Shandong Province, in the south of Zibo City, bordering Yiyuan County in the south, Laiwu City in the southwest, Zhangqiu City in the northwest, Zichuan District in the east and north, between longitude 117o43km east, latitude 36 °16km, north latitude 36 °16km, north-south 49.4km long, east-west width 20km, total area 698.2 square km. The scenic spots in Boshan District are part of the World Cultural Heritage Great Wall, such as Qi Great Wall, Yan Wenjiang Temple, Bixia Yuanjun Palace, Yuhuang Palace, Fan ancestral Hall, Fenghuang Mountain and so on. Boshan District has honorary titles such as "hometown of Chinese Ceramic Glass Art", "famous City of Chinese pump Industry", "hometown of Chinese Glass", "famous City of Chinese Shandong cuisine" and so on.