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.
Guanshan Lake District, which belongs to Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, is located in the northwest of Guiyang City, with Qianling Mountains to the east, Mawangmiao area of Sanqiao to the south, Qingzhen City to the west and Baiyun District to the north. As of July 2017, the Guanshan Lake District has a population of more than 450000 and has jurisdiction over 3 towns: Baihuahu Town, Jinhua Town and Zhuchang Town, 9 community service centers, 49 administrative villages and 59 communities. The area is 307 square kilometers. In 2013, the GDP of the whole region of Guanshan Lake District reached 10.707 billion yuan, an increase of 15.9% over the same period in 2012. The main tourist attractions in Guanshan Lake District are Baihua Lake Scenic spot, Guanshan Lake Park and so on. In October 2018, it was selected as the "Top 100 regions with National Investment potential in 2018".