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.
The Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern Guizhou, with its capital in Xingyi City, is one of the nine prefecture-level administrative regions of Guizhou, which is located in the combination of Yunnan, Guangxi and Guizhou provinces (regions). Southwest of Guizhou Province. The upper reaches of the Pearl River. The southeastern end of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Longitude 104 °35 "east" 106 °32 "east, latitude 24 °38" 26 °11 'north. The area of the autonomous prefecture is about 16804 square kilometers. There are 35 ethnic groups, such as Buyi, Miao, Hui, Han and so on. As of 2018, the Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern Guizhou has jurisdiction over 2 cities, 6 counties and 1 new district (Yilong New District). On September 21, 1981, the Xingyi area was abolished and the Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Southwest Guizhou was established. On May 1, 1982, the people's Government of the Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Southwest Guizhou was formally established. Qianxinan Prefecture Gold