• Mesa
  • Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture

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.

Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, which belongs to Hunan Province, is the only minority autonomous prefecture in the province. It is located in the northwest of Hunan Province, between longitude 109 °10 "110 °22.5" east and latitude 27 °44.5 "29 °38 'north. It is located at the junction of Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Chongqing. Xiangxi Miao Autonomous region was established in August 1952, changed to Xiangxi Miao Autonomous Prefecture in 1955, and Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was established in September 1957. It has jurisdiction over 7 counties and 1 city, covering an area of 15462 square kilometers. Xiangxi is a subtropical monsoon humid climate with obvious continental climate characteristics. In 2016, the resident population was 2.636 million. Among them, the urban population is 1.1351 million, the rural population is 1.5009 million, and the urbanization rate is 43%.
Travel Guides In Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
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Travel Asks In Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture