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.
Heshuo County, which belongs to Bayingol Mongolia Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang, derives its name from Heshuo Mongolia. It is located in the central part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, northeast of Yanqi Basin and north by Tianshan Mountain. It is bordered by Toksun County to the east, Yuli County to the south, Yanqi to the west, Hejing to the northwest, and Bosten Lake to the southwest. In 2013, Heshuo County has jurisdiction over 2 towns and 5 townships, with a total population of 75500. In 2013, Heshuo County completed a GDP of 1.88 billion yuan. Local investment in fixed assets totaled 1.215 billion yuan and local revenue reached 150 million yuan. The per capita net income of farmers and herdsmen reached 10809 yuan.