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Mesa

January 20, 2023

This article is about the geological formation. For other uses, see Mesa (disambiguation).

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.[1][2][3]

Aerial view of mesas in Monument Valley, on the Colorado Plateau
Cockburn Range, Kimberley, Western Australia, Australia

Names, definition and etymology

As noted by Bryan in 1922, mesas "...stand distinctly above the surrounding country, as a table stands above the floor upon which it rests".[4] It is from this appearance the term mesa was adopted from the Spanish word mesa meaning "table".[2]

A mesa is similar to, but has a more extensive summit area than, a butte. However, 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 much as 350 kilometres (220 mi). In contrast, flat topped hills, which are as small as 0.1 kilometres (0.062 mi) in area, in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, Germany, are described as mesas.[1][2][3]

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.[3]

In the English language geomorphic and geologic literature, other terms for mesa have also been used.[1] 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.[5][6] Similar landforms in Australia are known as tablehills, table-top hills, tent hills, or jump ups (jump-ups).[7][8][9] The German term Tafelberg has also been used in the English scientific literature in the past.[10]

Formation

 
Har Qatum, a mesa located on the southern edge of Makhtesh Ramon, Israel

Mesas form by weathering and erosion of horizontally layered rocks that have been uplifted by tectonic activity. Variations in the ability of different types of rock to resist weathering and erosion cause the weaker types of rocks to be eroded away, leaving the more resistant types of rocks topographically higher than their surroundings.[11] This process is called differential erosion. The most resistant rock types include sandstone, conglomerate, quartzite, basalt, chert, limestone, lava flows and sills.[11] Lava flows and sills, in particular, are very resistant to weathering and erosion, and often form the flat top, or caprock, of a mesa. The less resistant rock layers are mainly made up of shale, a softer rock that weathers and erodes more easily.[11]

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.[11] 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".[11] The more resistant layers form the cliffs, or stair steps, 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 eroding streams, a section can be cut off from the main cliff, forming a mesa.[11]

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.[12] 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.

Examples and locations

Australia

 
Mount Conner, a mesa located in Northern Territory, Australia
 
Amadiya, Iraq, a city in its entirety built on a mesa

France

Germany

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

United Kingdom

England

 
Ingleborough in North Yorkshire, England

Scotland

United States

Arizona

California

Colorado

 
Mesa in Colorado

Nevada

Oklahoma

Texas

Utah

Wisconsin

On Mars

 
A mesa in Noctis Labyrinthus on Mars, viewed by HiRISE

A transitional zone on Mars, known as fretted terrain, lies between highly cratered highlands and less cratered lowlands. The younger lowland exhibits steep walled mesas and knobs. The mesa and knobs are separated by flat lying lowlands. They are thought to form from ice-facilitated mass wasting processes from ground or atmospheric sources. The mesas and knobs decrease in size with increasing distance from the highland escarpment. The relief of the mesas range from nearly 2 km (1.2 mi) to 100 m (330 ft) depending on the distance they are from the escarpment.[27]

See also

  • Amba – Steep-sided, flat-topped mountain in Ethiopia, usually harboring various settlement
  • Archipelago – Collection of islands
  • Butte – Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
  • Dissected plateau – Plateaux area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp
  • Mensa – Flat-topped prominence with cliff-like edges
  • Mesa Verde National Park – U.S. national park in Colorado
  • Nor'Wester Mountains – Group of mountains immediately south of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • Pingdingshan – Chinese city named after a local mesa
  • Potrero – Long mesa that at one end slopes upward to higher terrain
  • Table hill – Raised landform with a flat top
  • Table Mountain – Flat-topped mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town, South Africa
  • Tepui – Table-top mountain or mesa in the Guiana Highlands of South America
  • Tundra – Biome where plant growth is hindered by frigid temperatures
  • Tuya – Flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet

References

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mesas.
 
Look up mesa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. ^ a b c 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.2019.102890
  2. ^ a b c Migoń, P., 2004a. Mesa. In: Goudie, A.S. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Geomorphology. Routledge, London, pp. 668. ISBN 9780415272988
  3. ^ a b c Neuendorf, Klaus K.E. Mehl, James P., Jr. Jackson, Julia A.. (2011). Glossary of Geology (5th Edition). American Geosciences Institute. ISBN 9781680151787
  4. ^ Bryan, K. (1922). "Erosion and Sedimentation in the Papago Country, Arizona". US Geological Survey Bulletin (730): 19–90.
  5. ^ Briceño, H.O. and Schubert, C., 1990. Geomorphology of the Gran Sabana, Guayana Shield, southeastern Venezuela. Geomorphology, 3(2), pp.125-141.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Macquarie dictionary : Australia's national dictionary online, Macquarie Library, 2021, retrieved 11 March 2021
  9. ^ "Land Zones of Queensland". Queensland Government. 2012. pp. 62–63. Retrieved 11 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ King, L.C., 1942. South African Scenery. A Textbook of Geomorphology. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, London (340 pp.).
  11. ^ a b c d e f Easterbrook, Don J. (1999). Surface Processes and Landforms. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780138609580.
  12. ^ Choreley, Richard J.; Stanley A. Schumm; David E. Sugden (1985). Geomorphology. New York: Methuen.
  13. ^ Burbridge, Andrew; Mckenzie, NL; Kenneally, Kevin F (1991). Nature Conservation Reserves in the Kimberley, Western Australia. Department of Conservation and Land Management. ISBN 9780646033747. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  14. ^ Report. The Department. 1966.
  15. ^ https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Kindred_by_Choice/HV4DAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 Kindred by Choice Germans and American Indians Since 1800, Glenn H Penny, 2013]
  16. ^ https://www.nationalpark-saechsische-schweiz.de/besucherinformation/ausflugsziele/lilienstein-ein-tafelberg-mit-symbolcharakter/?lang=en Lilienstein – a mesa with a symbolic character]
  17. ^ a b c Jancewicz, Kacper. "Morphological diversity of mesas in Elbsandsteingebirg". ResearchGate. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  18. ^ a b c Journal of Earth Sciences Royal Dublin Society. (1980). Ireland: The Society.
  19. ^ "Masada - Definition, History, Siege & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  20. ^ Karst Rock Features. Karren sculpturing: Karren sculpturing. Zalozoba ZRC. 2009. p. 286. ISBN 9789612541613. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  21. ^ https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Lakeland/U_pEAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq Lakeland - The Wildlife of Cumbria, Derek A Ratcliffe]
  22. ^ a b Reading, H. G. (1954) The stratigraphy and structure of the syncline of stainmore, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9349/
  23. ^ a b Wood, Harold; Preece, Dorothy (1948). Modern Geography ...: The British Isles. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  24. ^ Reid, T.R. (2 November 2000). "A Lord's Leaky Roof vs. a Changing Scotland". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  25. ^ National Geographic Encyclopedia (2016)
  26. ^ "Floating Mesa, Bushland, Texas". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  27. ^ Baker, David M. Morphological Analyses of Mesas and Knobs in the Northwest Fretted Terrain of Mars; Constraints on the Presence and Distribution of Ice-Facilitated Mass-Wasting. Ed. Alexander K. Stewart and James W. Head. Vol. 40. Issue 2. pp. 72. United States: Geological Society of America (GSA) : Boulder, CO, United States, 2008.

January 20, 2023
mesa, this, article, about, geological, formation, other, uses, disambiguation, mesa, isolated, flat, topped, elevation, ridge, hill, which, bounded, from, sides, steep, escarpments, stands, distinctly, above, surrounding, plain, characteristically, consist, f. This article is about the geological formation For other uses see Mesa disambiguation 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 1 2 3 Aerial view of mesas in Monument Valley on the Colorado Plateau Cockburn Range Kimberley Western Australia Australia Contents 1 Names definition and etymology 2 Formation 3 Examples and locations 3 1 Australia 3 2 France 3 3 Germany 3 4 Iraq 3 5 Ireland 3 6 Israel 3 7 Italy 3 8 United Kingdom 3 8 1 England 3 8 2 Scotland 3 9 United States 3 9 1 Arizona 3 9 2 California 3 9 3 Colorado 3 9 4 Nevada 3 9 5 Oklahoma 3 9 6 Texas 3 9 7 Utah 3 9 8 Wisconsin 4 On Mars 5 See also 6 ReferencesNames definition and etymology EditAs noted by Bryan in 1922 mesas stand distinctly above the surrounding country as a table stands above the floor upon which it rests 4 It is from this appearance the term mesa was adopted from the Spanish word mesa meaning table 2 A mesa is similar to but has a more extensive summit area than a butte However 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 much as 350 kilometres 220 mi In contrast flat topped hills which are as small as 0 1 kilometres 0 062 mi in area in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains Germany are described as mesas 1 2 3 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 3 In the English language geomorphic and geologic literature other terms for mesa have also been used 1 For example in the Roraima region of Venezuela the traditional name tepui from the local Pomon language and the term table mountains have been used to describe local flat topped mountains 5 6 Similar landforms in Australia are known as tablehills table top hills tent hills or jump ups jump ups 7 8 9 The German term Tafelberg has also been used in the English scientific literature in the past 10 Formation Edit Har Qatum a mesa located on the southern edge of Makhtesh Ramon Israel Mesas form by weathering and erosion of horizontally layered rocks that have been uplifted by tectonic activity Variations in the ability of different types of rock to resist weathering and erosion cause the weaker types of rocks to be eroded away leaving the more resistant types of rocks topographically higher than their surroundings 11 This process is called differential erosion The most resistant rock types include sandstone conglomerate quartzite basalt chert limestone lava flows and sills 11 Lava flows and sills in particular are very resistant to weathering and erosion and often form the flat top or caprock of a mesa The less resistant rock layers are mainly made up of shale a softer rock that weathers and erodes more easily 11 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 11 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 11 The more resistant layers form the cliffs or stair steps 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 eroding streams a section can be cut off from the main cliff forming a mesa 11 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 12 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 Examples and locations EditAustralia Edit Mount Conner a mesa located in Northern Territory Australia Amadiya Iraq a city in its entirety built on a mesa Cockburn Range Western Australia 13 Mount Conner Northern Territory 14 France Edit Mont Aiguille Auvergne Rhone AlpesGermany Edit Konigstein Saxony 15 Lilienstein Saxony 16 Papststein Saxony 17 Pfaffenstein Saxony 17 Quirl Saxony 17 Iraq Edit Amadiya Kurdistan RegionIreland Edit Kings Mountain County Sligo 18 Knocknarea County Sligo 18 Knocknashee County Sligo 18 Israel Edit Masada Southern District 19 Har QatumItaly Edit Monte Santo SardiniaUnited Kingdom Edit England Edit Ingleborough in North Yorkshire England Castle Folds Cumbria 20 Cross Fell Cumbria 21 Goldsborough Carr County Durham 22 Ingleborough North Yorkshire 23 Pen y ghent North Yorkshire 23 Shacklesborough County Durham 22 Scotland Edit Healabhal Mhor Isle of Skye 24 United States Edit Arizona Edit Anderson Mesa Black Mesa Black Mesa Black Mesa Black Mountain Cummings Mesa First Mesa Horseshoe Mesa Indian Mesa Second MesaCalifornia Edit Redonda MesaColorado Edit Mesa in Colorado Battlement Mesa Grand Mesa largest flat topped mountain in the world 25 Green Mountain Log Hill Mesa North Table Mountain Raton MesaNevada Edit Mormon Mesa Pahute MesaOklahoma Edit Black Mesa Mesa de MayaTexas Edit Floating Mesa 26 Utah Edit Checkerboard Mesa Crazy Quilt Mesa Hurricane Mesa Sams Mesa Smith Mesa South Caineville Mesa Thompson Mesa Wildcat Mesa Wingate MesaWisconsin Edit Grandad BluffOn Mars Edit A mesa in Noctis Labyrinthus on Mars viewed by HiRISE A transitional zone on Mars known as fretted terrain lies between highly cratered highlands and less cratered lowlands The younger lowland exhibits steep walled mesas and knobs The mesa and knobs are separated by flat lying lowlands They are thought to form from ice facilitated mass wasting processes from ground or atmospheric sources The mesas and knobs decrease in size with increasing distance from the highland escarpment The relief of the mesas range from nearly 2 km 1 2 mi to 100 m 330 ft depending on the distance they are from the escarpment 27 See also EditAmba Steep sided flat topped mountain in Ethiopia usually harboring various settlement Archipelago Collection of islands Butte Isolated hill with steep often vertical sides and a small relatively flat top Dissected plateau Plateaux area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp Mensa Flat topped prominence with cliff like edges Mesa Verde National Park U S national park in Colorado Nor Wester Mountains Group of mountains immediately south of Thunder Bay Ontario Canada Pingdingshan Chinese city named after a local mesa Potrero Long mesa that at one end slopes upward to higher terrain Table hill Raised landform with a flat top Table Mountain Flat topped mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town South Africa Tepui Table top mountain or mesa in the Guiana Highlands of South America Tundra Biome where plant growth is hindered by frigid temperatures Tuya Flat topped steep sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheetReferences Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mesas Look up mesa in Wiktionary the free dictionary a b c Duszynski F Migon 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 102890 a b c Migon P 2004a Mesa In Goudie A S Ed Encyclopedia of Geomorphology Routledge London pp 668 ISBN 9780415272988 a b c Neuendorf Klaus K E Mehl James P Jr Jackson Julia A 2011 Glossary of Geology 5th Edition American Geosciences Institute ISBN 9781680151787 Bryan K 1922 Erosion and Sedimentation in the Papago Country Arizona US Geological Survey Bulletin 730 19 90 Briceno 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 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 Macquarie dictionary Australia s national dictionary online Macquarie Library 2021 retrieved 11 March 2021 Land Zones of Queensland Queensland Government 2012 pp 62 63 Retrieved 11 March 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link King L C 1942 South African Scenery A Textbook of Geomorphology Oliver and Boyd Edinburgh London 340 pp a b c d e f Easterbrook Don J 1999 Surface Processes and Landforms Upper Saddle River NJ Prentice Hall ISBN 9780138609580 Choreley Richard J Stanley A Schumm David E Sugden 1985 Geomorphology New York Methuen Burbridge Andrew Mckenzie NL Kenneally Kevin F 1991 Nature Conservation Reserves in the Kimberley Western Australia Department of Conservation and Land Management ISBN 9780646033747 Retrieved 4 July 2021 Report The Department 1966 https www google co uk books edition Kindred by Choice HV4DAAAAQBAJ hl en amp gbpv 0 Kindred by Choice Germans and American Indians Since 1800 Glenn H Penny 2013 https www nationalpark saechsische schweiz de besucherinformation ausflugsziele lilienstein ein tafelberg mit symbolcharakter lang en Lilienstein a mesa with a symbolic character a b c Jancewicz Kacper Morphological diversity of mesas in Elbsandsteingebirg ResearchGate Retrieved 4 July 2021 a b c Journal of Earth Sciences Royal Dublin Society 1980 Ireland The Society Masada Definition History Siege amp Facts Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 4 July 2021 Karst Rock Features Karren sculpturing Karren sculpturing Zalozoba ZRC 2009 p 286 ISBN 9789612541613 Retrieved 4 July 2021 https www google co uk books edition Lakeland U pEAAAAYAAJ hl en amp gbpv 0 amp bsq Lakeland The Wildlife of Cumbria Derek A Ratcliffe a b Reading H G 1954 The stratigraphy and structure of the syncline of stainmore Durham theses Durham University Available at Durham E Theses Online http etheses dur ac uk 9349 a b Wood Harold Preece Dorothy 1948 Modern Geography The British Isles Retrieved 9 July 2022 Reid T R 2 November 2000 A Lord s Leaky Roof vs a Changing Scotland The Washington Post Retrieved 10 August 2022 National Geographic Encyclopedia 2016 Floating Mesa Bushland Texas Atlas Obscura Retrieved 19 October 2021 Baker David M Morphological Analyses of Mesas and Knobs in the Northwest Fretted Terrain of Mars Constraints on the Presence and Distribution of Ice Facilitated Mass Wasting Ed Alexander K Stewart and James W Head Vol 40 Issue 2 pp 72 United States Geological Society of America GSA Boulder CO United States 2008 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mesa amp oldid 1122310025, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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