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.
Zhenfeng County, which belongs to Qianxinan Prefecture, Guizhou Province, is located in the southwest of Guizhou Province, with Zhenning Buyi and Miao Autonomous County and Wangmo County in the east, Anlong County and Ceheng County in the south, Xingren County in the west and Guanling Buyi and Miao Autonomous County in the north. It has jurisdiction over 6 towns and 7 townships, with a total area of 1511 square kilometers and a population of 410000 (2012). Zhenfeng County was founded in the Tang Dynasty during the period of Zhenguan, there are Shuangrufeng and other scenic spots. In 2013, Zhenfeng County completed a GDP of 6.257 billion yuan, an increase of 16.9% over the same period in 2012. In March 2019, it was on the list of the first batch of revolutionary cultural relics protection and utilization districts and counties. In November 2019, Zhenfeng County was named as the national demonstration county of "Sihao Rural Road".