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.
Boxing County, which belongs to Binzhou City, Shandong Province, is located in the southeast of Binzhou City, with a total area of 900.7 square kilometers. There are three major river systems in Boxing County, namely, the Yellow River, Xiaoqing River and Zhimai River, which are rich in many kinds of agricultural and sideline products, such as wheat, cotton, soybean, corn, forest, fruit and vegetables. It is the only producing area of a series of crafted products of pu grass and the national export base of grass and willow handicrafts. Willow weaving and straw weaving are selected into the national intangible cultural heritage list and Shandong intangible cultural heritage list respectively. It is also an important grain and cotton production base and pollution-free vegetable production base in Shandong Province. it is named "the hometown of Chinese grass and willow" and "the hometown of high-quality tomatoes in China". As of 2018, Boxing County has jurisdiction over 3 streets and 9 towns. By the end of 2017, the total population of Boxing County was 503283.