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.
Xuanwei City, located in the northeast of Yunnan Province, is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Qujing City, Yunnan Province. Located in longitude 103 °35 "104 °40" east, latitude 25 °53 "26 °44" north, adjacent to Panzhou City, Guizhou Province in the east, Zhanyi District in the south, facing Niulan River and Huize County in the west, Weining County in Guizhou Province in the north, 260 kilometers away from Kunming, the provincial capital. As of 2008, Xuanwei City has a total area of 6069.88 square kilometers. It accounts for about 1.58% of the total area of Yunnan Province. The urban area is 102 kilometers away from Qujing municipal government and 204 kilometers away from Kunming. Rich in tourism resources, scenic spots mainly include Dongshan Park (provincial tourist attractions), Wanshui Park, Meidu Mountain Park, Kedu Ancient Town, Laibin Longdong, Xishan Forest Park, Daxiangshui, Rongfeng Sunrise and so on.