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.
Zhouning County (ancient Ningde County, Funing Prefecture) belongs to Ningde City, Fujian Province, and is located in the northeast of Fujian Province, between 26 °53 degrees north latitude and 27 °19 degrees east longitude and 119 °06 degrees east longitude. It is bordered by Fu'an in the east, Zhenghe in the west, Shouning in the north, Ningde in the southeast, and Pingnan in the southwest. The total land area is 1047.1 square kilometers. Located in the eastern foot of Jiufeng Mountains, the terrain inclines from northwest to southeast, with an average elevation of 800 meters, and the county seat is more than 880 meters above sea level, ranking first in the province. It is known as the "Alpine Pearl". Zhouning County has jurisdiction over 6 towns, 3 townships and 147administrative villages (communities) with a resident population of 121500 (at the end of 2016). No. 32 Beimen Road, Shicheng Town, County people's Government. There are 18 main streams and the largest dragon pavilion in Zhouning County.