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.
Yushe County is under the jurisdiction of Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, located in the middle of the south of Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, the western foot of Taihang Mountain, Zhuozhang Beiyuan both sides. It is adjacent to Zuoquan and Heshun in the east, Taigu and Yuci in the north, Qixian in the west and Wuxiang in the south. The lowest elevation is 987 meters, which belongs to the loess hilly and gully region. The average annual rainfall is 400-600 mm and the frost-free period is 90-150 days. It belongs to temperate continental climate. By 2008, Yushe County covers an area of 1699 square kilometers. In 2014, Yushe County had jurisdiction over 4 towns and 5 townships: Jicheng Town, Yunzhu Town, Haobei Town, Shecheng Town, Heyu Township, Xiaotang Township, Beizhai Township, Xima Township, Lanyu Township, and Urban Management Committee. The county people's government is stationed in Jicheng town. In March 2019, it was listed as the first batch of revolutionary cultural relics protection and utilization district and county list.