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.
Toksun County, which belongs to Turpan City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, is located in the central and eastern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountains and in the west of Turpan Basin. Its geographical coordinates are: longitude 87 °1405"-89 °11008 "east, latitude 41 °21114"-43 °180011" north, adjacent to Gaochang District, Turpan City in the east, Yuli County in Bazhou to the south, Heshuo and Hejing County in Bazhou to the west, and Urumqi to the north. The county town of Toksun is 162 kilometers away from Urumqi. Tokson County covers an area of 16171.47 square kilometers and has a population of 138000 (2013). The main scenic spots in Tokson County are Panjil strange Stone Forest, Kerr alkali rock painting, Kerr alkali tourist area, Ten Thousand Buddha Palace and so on.