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.
Yiliang County, under the jurisdiction of Kunming City, Yunnan Province, is located in the middle of Yunnan Province. It is located at 24 °30 °36 counties ampterfield, 25 °17 °02 counties, 102 °58 counties, 22 counties, 103 °28 cities, 75 counties, respectively. It is bordered by Luliang County and Shilin County to the east, Mile County and Huanning County to the south, Chengjiang County, Chenggong District and Guandu District to the west, and Songming County to the north. The county seat is 52 kilometers away from Kunming, 24 kilometers away from Stone Forest National Scenic spot and 38 kilometers away from Jiuxiang Scenic spot. By 2014, Yiliang County had 2 streets (including entrusted Tangchi streets) and 4 towns and 2 townships, covering an area of 1913.53 square kilometers (including entrusted Tangchi streets) at the end of the year.