Donate

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Mesa

Mesa

A mesa is a flat-topped mountain or hill.

Grades

5 - 12+

Subjects

Earth Science, Geology, Geography, Physical Geography

‌

‌
‌
‌

‌
‌
‌
‌
‌
‌
‌
‌
‌
‌
NGS Resource Carousel Loading Logo
Loading ...
Powered by
Morgan Stanley

A mesa is a flat-topped mountain or hill. It is a wide, flat, elevated landform with steep sides.

Mesa is a Spanish word that means table. Spanish explorers of the American southwest, where many mesas are found, used the word because the tops of mesas look like the tops of tables.

Mesas are formed by erosion, when water washes smaller and softer types of rocks away from the top of a hill. The strong, durable rock that remains on top of a mesa is called caprock. A mesa is usually wider than it is tall.

Mesas are usually found in dry regions where rock layers are horizontal.

Fast Fact

Tabletop Community
There are over 300 lakes on top of the Grand Mesa, in Colorado, as well as a state highway.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Writers
Kim Rutledge
Melissa McDaniel
Santani Teng
Hilary Hall
Tara Ramroop
Erin Sprout
Jeff Hunt
Diane Boudreau
Hilary Costa
Illustrators
Mary Crooks, National Geographic Society
Tim Gunther
Editors
Jeannie Evers, Emdash Editing, Emdash Editing
Kara West
Educator Reviewer
Nancy Wynne
Producer
National Geographic Society
other
Last Updated

October 19, 2023

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

Media

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

Related Resources