A mesa is a flat‑topped hill or small plateau with steep sides, common in dry regions like the American Southwest. It stands out from the land around it like a table.
From Spanish “mesa” meaning 'table', from Latin “mensa” 'table'. Spanish speakers used the word because these landforms look like giant tables rising from the ground. English borrowed it along with many other landscape terms from Spanish in the Americas.
A mesa is literally a 'table' of rock—Spanish speakers just pointed and named what they saw. Its cousins 'mensa' and 'menu' share the same root, all circling around the idea of a flat surface for serving things.
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