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.
Jintai District belongs to Baoji City, Shaanxi Province. It is located in the northern half of Baoji City, adjacent to Weibin District in the south, entering Weihe Estuary from Yujian River in the west and Jinling River in the east, bounded by Longhai Railway in the east, Baocheng Railway in the west and Weihe River in the west. The west, north and east are surrounded by Chencang District. It is between longitude 107 °04 "15 km east and latitude 34 °25" 35 km north, with a total area of 52.16 square kilometers. Jintai District is named after the Yuan Dynasty "Jintai View". There are many places of interest in Jintai District, such as the Beishouling site of Yangshao Culture, the site of Ancient Chencang City, the Mausoleum of Qin King of Datang Dynasty and so on. In 2018, Jintai District has jurisdiction over 7 streets and 4 towns, with a resident population of 399800.