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.
Shuncheng District, which belongs to Fushun City, Liaoning Province, is the seat of Fushun Municipal Government. It is located in the north of Fushun City, Liaoning Province, Tieling County, Tieling City in the north, Shenbei New District in Shenyang City and Gaowan Special Zone in Fushun in the west, connected with Dongzhou District in the east and Xinfu District and Wanghua District in the south across the river. With a total area of 348 square kilometers, it is located between longitude 123 °4600km east and latitude 42o 52m 24km north, between longitude 124 °003m 40m, latitude 42o 52m 24m. In 2014, the GDP of Shuncheng reached 21 billion yuan, an increase of 5% over the same period in 2013. As of 2014, Shuncheng District of Fushun City has jurisdiction over 6 streets, 2 townships and 1 town, with a resident population of 500000.