Mesa Totally Explained

Everything about Mesa totally explained

A mesa (Spanish and Portuguese for "table") is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape. It is a characteristic landform of arid environments, particularly the southwestern United States. Many examples are also found in Spain, North and South Africa, Arabia, India, Australia, and the Badlands and Colorado regions of North America. The largest mesa in the world is considered to be the Grand Mesa in western Colorado in the United States. Urraca Mesa in northern New Mexico is particularly famous for being "haunted" in local tradition.

Formation of a Mesa

Mesas form in areas where horizontally layered rocks are 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 relative to their surroundings. This process is called differential erosion. The most resistant rock types include sandstone, conglomerate, quartzite, chert, limestone, lava flows and sills. 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 a little remains, it's known as a butte.

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