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.
Maigaiti County is located in the southwest of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, the western Tarim Basin, the northern foot of the Karakoram Mountains, the lower reaches of the Yeerqiang River and the lower reaches of the Tizinafu River. It is connected with the Taklimakan Desert in the east, Pishan in the southeast, Shache and Yecheng counties in the south, Yuepu Lake County in the west, the Yeerqiang River in the north, Bachu County in the north and Awati County in the northeast. The total area of the county is 11022.53 square kilometers, with a total population of 260000 (2012). There are Uygur, Han, Hui, Uzbek and other ethnic groups. It now has jurisdiction over 1 town and 9 townships: Megheti Town, Bazajiemi Township, Hitidun Township, Yontak Township, Tumantal Township, Gazikule Township, Kizil Awati Township, Kumkusar Township, Angteluk Township, Kulma Township. Within the county are: may 1 Forest Farm, Populus euphratica Forest Farm,