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.
Dafang County, located in the northwest of Guizhou Province, belongs to Bijie City, Jinsha County in the east, Qianxi County in the south and Qixingguan District in the west. It is located in the core of Guizhou Golden Triangle. The county seat is 150 kilometers away from the provincial capital Guiyang. There are 36 townships in the county, inhabited by 23 ethnic groups, including Han, Yi, Miao, Bai and Gelao, with a population of 1.03 million. Rich in mineral resources, perfect infrastructure and superior geographical location, it is an important transportation hub and material distribution center in northwest Guizhou. In the generous territory, there are tourist attractions such as the ancient city of Muge, the ancient town of luxury incense, Longchangping Mountain, Magan Mountain grassland, Muzhai Village, oil fir river, Zhiga Aru Lake, luxury incense tomb, Kuifeng Pagoda, Geya Ancient Post Road, Jihuo Stele, Dadu River Bridge, Qingxu Cave and other tourist attractions. September 25, 2018, won the honor of "2018 e-commerce into the rural comprehensive demonstration county" of the Ministry of Commerce.