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.
Midu County is located in the west of Yunnan Plateau and the southeast of Dali Prefecture, bordering Xiangyun and Nanhua counties in the east, Jingdong and Nanjian counties in the south, Weishan County in the west and Dali City in the north. It is 320 kilometers east from the provincial capital Kunming, 61 kilometers north from Xiaguan, and 144 kilometers south from Manwan Power Station. It is one of the birthplaces of the Red River and the hinterbelt of the economic belt in the middle reaches of the Lancang River. in ancient times, it is known as "Liuzhao throat". It is a well-known hometown of lanterns and folk songs. The famous songs "Midu Folk Song", "embroidered purse" and "Ten Sisters" are known as the oriental serenade folk song "River dripping" from Midu. In 2010, Midu folk songs in Midu County, Yunnan Province, were selected into the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage list, traditional music project category, serial number 6.