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.
Shiqian County, which belongs to Tongren City, Guizhou Province, is located in the northeast of Guizhou Province and southwest of Tongren City, between longitude 107 °44 °55 "- 108 °33 °47" east and latitude 27 °17 °5 "- 27 °42 °50" north, with a total area of 2173 square kilometers. Shiqian County is located in the large slope zone of the transition from Xiangxi hills to Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Shiqian County has undulating mountains, vertical and horizontal valleys, high in the southeast and low in the northwest, and the karst landform is obvious. Shiqian County is a mid-subtropical humid monsoon climate zone with sufficient sunshine, mild climate, abundant rainfall, warm and humid joint and long frost-free period. In 2018, Shiqian County has jurisdiction over 3 streets, 6 towns and 10 townships. In 2017, Shiqian County had a resident population of 306500, achieving a regional gross domestic product (GDP) of 79. 5%.