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.
Puding County, which belongs to Anshun City, Guizhou Province, is located in the west-central part of Guizhou Province, adjacent to Xixiu District, Development Zone and Pingba District of Anshun City in the east, Zhenning County and Liuzhi Special Zone in the south, Liuzhi Special Zone in the west and Zhijin County in the north. It is located in the hinterland of central Guizhou, which is known as "the belly of Guizhou and the throat of Yunnan". It is located in the hinterland of central Guizhou, which is located in the east longitude of 105o 27 & #39; 49mm ampquotter & #39; 51mm ampquotter, latitude 26 °26 & #39; 36th ampquotter 26 °31 & #39; 42mm ampquot; between east-west length of 51.4km, north-south width of 40km and total area of 1079.93 square kilometers. Puding County genus