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.
Longling County is located in the west of Yunnan Province, with geographical coordinates of 98 °25 "99 °11" east longitude and 24 °07 "24 °50 'north latitude. It is bordered by Shidian, Yongde, Zhenkang, Myanmar, Luxi, Lianghe, Tengchong and Longyang respectively. The maximum distance between east and west of the county is 64 kilometers, and the maximum span between north and south is 78 kilometers, with a total area of 2884 square kilometers. The county has jurisdiction over 5 towns and 5 townships (including 1 ethnic township). Longling is located in the Nujiang fault zone, with many earthquakes and geothermal. Belongs to the subtropical mountain monsoon climate, the three-dimensional climate is obvious, the annual precipitation is about 2300 mm, it is called "the rain screen of western Yunnan". Places of interest include Xiao Heishan Nature Reserve, Banglazhang Hot Mineral Spring, Songshan Battle site, Dam Martyrs Cemetery, Xishan Park, Yunlong Temple, etc., as well as Hetou Shaotan Tianpo, etc.