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A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep Escarpment and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft Sedimentary rock, such as Shale, capped by a resistant layer of harder rock, like sandstone or limestone, forming a caprock that protects the flat summit. The caprock may also include dissected Lava flow or eroded duricrust.
Unlike a plateau, which is a broader, elevated region that may not have horizontal bedrock (e.g., Tibetan Plateau), a mesa is defined by flat-lying strata and steep-sided isolation. Large, flat-topped plateaus with horizontal strata, less isolated and often part of extensive plateau systems, are called tablelands. A butte is a smaller, eroded mesa with a limited summit, while a cuesta has a gentle dip slope and one steep escarpment due to tilted strata.Duszyński, F., Migoń, P. and Strzelecki, M.C., 2019. Escarpment retreat in sedimentary tablelands and cuesta landscapes–Landforms, mechanisms and patterns. Earth-Science Reviews,' no. 102890. doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.102890Migoń, P., 2004a. Mesa. In: Goudie, A.S. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Geomorphology. Routledge, London, pp. 668. Neuendorf, Klaus K.E. Mehl, James P., Jr. Jackson, Julia A.. (2011). Glossary of Geology (5th Edition). American Geosciences Institute.
A mesa is similar to, but has a more extensive summit area than, a butte. There is no agreed size limit that separates mesas from either buttes or plateaus. For example, the flat-topped mountains which are known as mesas in the Cockburn Range of North Western Australia have areas as large as . In contrast, flat topped hills with areas as small as in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, Germany, are described as mesas.Duszyński, F., Migoń, P. and Strzelecki, M.C., 2019. Escarpment retreat in sedimentary tablelands and cuesta landscapes–Landforms, mechanisms and patterns. Earth-Science Reviews,' no. 102890. doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.102890Neuendorf, Klaus K.E. Mehl, James P., Jr. Jackson, Julia A.. (2011). Glossary of Geology (5th Edition). American Geosciences Institute.
Less strictly, a very broad, flat-topped, usually isolated hill or mountain of moderate height bounded on at least one side by a steep cliff or slope and representing an erosion remnant also have been called mesas.
In the English-language geomorphic and geologic literature, other terms for mesa have also been used. For example, in the Roraima region of Venezuela, the traditional name, tepui, from the local Pomón language, and the term table mountains have been used to describe local flat-topped mountains.Briceño, H.O. and Schubert, C., 1990. Geomorphology of the Gran Sabana, Guayana Shield, southeastern Venezuela. Geomorphology, 3(2), pp.125-141. Doerr, S.H., 1999. Karst-like landforms and hydrology in quartzites of the Venezuelan Guyana shield: Pseudokarst or" real" karst?. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie, 43(1), pp.1-17. Similar landforms in Australia are known as tablehills, table-top hills, tent hills, or jump ups ( jump-ups).Jack, R.L., 1915. The Geology and prospects of the Region to the South of the Musgrave Ranges, and the Geology of the Western Portion of the Great Australian Artesian Basin. Geol. Survey South Australia Bulletin 5, pp. 72. The German term Tafelberg has also been used in the English scientific literature in the past.King, L.C., 1942. South African Scenery. A Textbook of Geomorphology. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, London (340 pp.).
The differences in strength of various rock layers are what give mesas their distinctive shape. Less resistant rocks are eroded away on the surface into valleys, where they collect water drainage from the surrounding area, while the more resistant layers are left standing out. A large area of very resistant rock, such as a sill, may shield the layers below it from erosion while the softer rock surrounding it is eroded into valleys, thus forming a caprock.
Differences in rock type also reflect on the sides of a mesa, as instead of smooth slopes, the sides are broken into a staircase pattern called "cliff-and-bench topography". The more resistant layers form the cliffs, or stairsteps, while the less resistant layers form gentle slopes, or benches, between the cliffs. Cliffs retreat and are eventually cut off from the main cliff, or plateau, by basal sapping. When the cliff edge does not retreat uniformly but instead is indented by headward erosion streams, a section can be cut off from the main cliff, forming a mesa.
Basal sapping occurs as water flowing around the rock layers of the mesa erodes the underlying soft shale layers, either as surface runoff from the mesa top or from groundwater moving through permeable overlying layers, which leads to slumping and flowage of the shale. As the underlying shale erodes away, it can no longer support the overlying cliff layers, which collapse and retreat. When the caprock has caved away to the point where only little remains, it is known as a butte.
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