• Mesa
  • LanTian County

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.

Lantian County, which belongs to Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, is the hometown of Huaxu, the mother of Fuxi and Nu WA, the immediate ancestor of Emperor Yan and the Yellow Emperor, and the origin of Lantian Jade, one of the four famous jade. It is located at the northern foot of Qinling Mountains, southeast of Guanzhong Plain, bounded by Qinling Mountains in the southeast, connected with Luonan County, Shangzhou District and Zuoshui County in Shangluo City, bounded by Kuyu River in the west, adjacent to Chang'an District and Baqiao District in the west, and bounded by Lishan Mountain in the north.
Travel Guides In LanTian County
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Travel Notes In LanTian County