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.
Rongjiang, formerly known as Guzhou, is one of the 800 prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River, belonging to Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture. It is located between 108 °04 east longitude and 108 °44 'east longitude and 25 °26 °28' north latitude. It is located in the center of the junction of Hunan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces, bordering Liping County and Congjiang County in the east, Leishan County and Sandu County in the west, Jianhe County in the north and Libo County in the south. It has been known as "the lock key in southeastern Guizhou Province and the first important area in Miaojiang" since ancient times. The county has a total area of 3315.8 square kilometers and has jurisdiction over 6 towns, 13 townships and 268 administrative villages, with a total population of 350000, of which 298000 are from Dong, Miao, Shui, Yao and other ethnic minorities, accounting for 85.14% of the total population. The government is stationed in Guzhou town. With a mild climate and abundant rainfall, Rongjiang is the "priority tourism development area of Guizhou Province".