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.
Shibing County is located in the central and eastern part of Guizhou Province, the northwest of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, and the combination of Qiandongnan, Tongren and Zunyi prefectures (cities). There are Bashi Mountain and Bingshui in the territory. Shibing County, Donglin Town, Tongren Shiqian County, Taijiang County in the south, Jianhe County in the southeast, Yuqing County in Zunyi Prefecture in the west, with a total area of 1543.8 square kilometers, have jurisdiction over 5 towns and 3 townships with a population of 156000 (2008). There are 13 ethnic groups in the county, including Miao, Dong, Buyi and Han. It is 62 kilometers from north to south and 60 kilometers from east to west. The Hunan-Guizhou Railway runs across the county. There is a Shibing Station in Yangliutang Town, 17 kilometers away from the county seat, and a 320000-ton railway freight yard. The Hunan-Guizhou Highway runs through the county town and runs through the whole territory, which is far from the state capital Kaili City.