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.
Linchuan District, Fuzhou City District, Jiangxi Province, is located in the east of Jiangxi Province, in the middle reaches of Fuhe River. Linchuan District is bordered by Jinxi and Dongxiang in the east, Chongren and Fengcheng in the west, Nancheng and Yihuang in the south, and Jinxian in the north. It is 48.2km wide from east to west and 69.8km long from north to south, with a total area of 2121 square kilometers. It is the seat of Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, and the city's political, economic, cultural, educational, scientific and technological center. It has jurisdiction over 9 townships and 17 towns, 2 reclamation farms, 5 street offices and 1 industrial development zone, with a population of 1.3 million and convenient transportation. It is 80 kilometers away from the provincial capital Nanchang and 128 kilometers from Changbei Airport. 316 National Highway, 320 National Highway, Fuyin Expressway, Fuji Expressway and Dongchang Expressway Changsha Highway pass through the border; Eagle-Xiamen, Zhejiang-Jiangxi and Xiangli Railway runs through the north and south, and the Fule Railway runs directly to Le'an Riverside Village. Domestic public