Table Mountain
Characteristic view of Table Mountain and Cape Town seen from Bloubergstrand. Cape Town (Kaapstad Xhosa: Ikapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the Bloubergstrand (ˈblɔːbɚgˈstrɑːnd is a suburb of Cape Town located on the shores of Table Bay, about 25km to the north of the city centre Table Mountain is flanked by Devil's Peak on the left and Lion's Head on the right. Devil's Peak ( Afrikaans Duiwelspiek) is part of the mountainous backdrop to Cape Town. Lion's Head is a mountain located in Cape Town, between Table Mountain and Signal Hill.
Elevation	1,086 m (3,563 ft)
Location	Cape Town, South Africa
Coordinates	33°57′26.33″S 18°24′11.19″E / -33.9573139, 18.4031083 (Table Mountain)Coordinates: 33°57′26.33″S 18°24′11.19″E / -33.9573139, 18.4031083 (Table Mountain)
Type	Sandstone
Age of rock	Silurian/Ordovician
First ascent	Antonio de Saldanha, 1503
Easiest route	Platteklip Gorge

Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. A mountain is a Landform that extends above the surrounding Terrain in a limited area with a peak Cape Town (Kaapstad Xhosa: Ikapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top. A tourist attraction is a place of interest where Tourists visit typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value historical significance natural or built beauty or The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway is a cableway to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. The mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. For information about the 2006 fire that occurred here please see 2006 Table Mountain fire Table Mountain National Park, previously known

Features

Table Mountain seen from Lion's Head. Lion's Head is a mountain located in Cape Town, between Table Mountain and Signal Hill.

The main feature of Table Mountain is a level plateau approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) from side to side, surrounded by steep cliffs. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The plateau, flanked by Devil's Peak to the east and by Lion's Head to the west, forms a dramatic backdrop to Cape Town and its Table Bay harbour, and together with Signal Hill form the natural amphitheatre of the City Bowl. Devil's Peak ( Afrikaans Duiwelspiek) is part of the mountainous backdrop to Cape Town. Lion's Head is a mountain located in Cape Town, between Table Mountain and Signal Hill. Table Bay ( Afrikaans Tafelbaai) is a natural inlet overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula which stretches Signal Hill is a landmark flat-topped hill located in Cape Town, next to Lion's Head and Table Mountain. An amphitheatre (alternatively amphitheater) is an open-air venue for spectator sports concerts rallies or theatrical performances The City Bowl is a part of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a natural Amphitheatre -shaped area bordered by Table Bay and defined by the mountains

The highest point on Table Mountain is towards the eastern end of the plateau and is marked by Maclear's Beacon, a stone cairn built in 1865 by Sir Thomas Maclear for trigonometrical survey. Sir Thomas Maclear ( March 17, 1794 &ndash July 14, 1879) was an Irish -born South African Astronomer who became It is 1,086 metres (3,563 ft) above sea level, about 19 metres (62 ft) higher than the cable station at the western end of the plateau.

The cliffs of the main plateau are split by Platteklip Gorge ("Flat Stone Gorge"), which provides an easy and direct ascent to the summit and was the route taken by Antonio de Saldanha on the first recorded ascent of the mountain in 1503. ^[1]

The flat top of the mountain is often covered by clouds/mist/fog spilling over the top to form the "table cloth".

Table Mountain is at the northern end of a sandstone mountain range that forms the spine of the Cape Peninsula. The Cape Peninsula is a generally rocky Peninsula that juts out for 75 km (47 mi into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the To the south of the main plateau is a lower part of the range called the Back Table. On the Atlantic coast of the peninsula, the range is known as the Twelve Apostles. The range continues southwards to Cape Point. Cape Point is a Promontory at the south-east corner of the Cape Peninsula, which is a mountainous and very scenic landform that runs north-south for about thirty kilometres

Panorama from the top of Table Mountain. From left to right are visible Lion's Head, Signal Hill, Robben Island, the Cape Town city centre, Table Bay, and Devil's Peak. Lion's Head is a mountain located in Cape Town, between Table Mountain and Signal Hill. Signal Hill is a landmark flat-topped hill located in Cape Town, next to Lion's Head and Table Mountain. Robben Island ( Afrikaans Robbeneiland) is an Island in Table Bay, some seven kilometres off the coast of the Cape Town bay South Cape Town (Kaapstad Xhosa: Ikapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the Table Bay ( Afrikaans Tafelbaai) is a natural inlet overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula which stretches Devil's Peak ( Afrikaans Duiwelspiek) is part of the mountainous backdrop to Cape Town.

Geology

Cape Peninsula and Table Mountain - Landsat Image over SRTM Elevation. The Landsat program is the longest running enterprise for acquisition of imagery of Earth from space The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission ( SRTM) is an international research effort that obtained Digital elevation models on a near-global scale from 56 °S to 60 °N North is on the left of the image, and Table Mountain is in the foreground at the northern end of the peninsula. ^[2]

The upper part of the mountain mesa consists of Ordovician quartzitic sandstone, commonly referred to as Table Mountain Sandstone (TMS), which is highly resistant to erosion and forms characteristic steep grey crags. A mesa ( Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic for "table" is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs Quartz (from German) is the most abundant Mineral in the Earth 's Continental crust (although Feldspar is more common in Sandstone is a Sedimentary rock composed mainly of Sand -size Mineral or rock grains. Table Mountain Sandstone is a group of rock formations within the Cape Supergroup sequence of rocks Below the sandstone is a layer of micaceous basal shale, which weathers quite readily and is therefore not readily visible. Shale (also called mudstone) is a fine-grained Sedimentary rock whose original constituents were Clay minerals or Muds It is characterized by The basement consists of heavily folded and altered late precambrian Malmesbury shale, which has been intruded by Cape Granite. The Precambrian ( Pre-Cambrian) is an informal name for the supereon comprising the eons of the Geologic timescale that came before the current The basement rocks are not nearly as resistant to weathering as the TMS but significant outcrops of the Cape Granite are visible on the western side of Lion's Head. ^[3][4]

Flora

The main vegetation of the mountain is the unique and rich Cape fynbos, which forms part of the Cape Floral Region protected areas. Fynbos (ˈfəinbɒs or anglicised as /ˈfeɪnbɒs/ meaning "fine bush" in Afrikaans) is the natural Shrubland or heathland vegetation occurring The Cape floristic region is a Floristic region located in South Africa. These protected areas are a World Heritage Site, and an estimated 2,200 species of plants are found on the mountain alone. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Amongst these species are many kinds of proteas. "Sugarbush" redirects here For the ski resort see Sugarbush Resort Protea is both the Botanical name Remnant patches of indigenous forest persist in a few of the wetter ravines but not on the more exposed face above the city, where conditions are too dry and harsh for forests. The mountain has also suffered serious invasions of alien plants for well over a century, with perhaps the worst invader being the cluster pine. The Maritime Pine ( Pinus pinaster) is a Pine native to the western Mediterranean region Considerable efforts have been made to eliminate these alien plants.

Fauna

The most common animal on the mountain is the dassie, or rock hyrax. The Cape Hyrax, or Rock Hyrax, ( Procavia capensis) is a species in the order Hyracoidea. They especially cluster around the upper cable station, near areas where tourists may discard or (illegally) supply food. There are also porcupines, mongooses, snakes and tortoises. The Cape Porcupine or South African Porcupine, Hystrix africaeaustralis, is a species of Old World porcupine. A mongoose (plural mongooses) is a member of the family Herpestidae (although also used for some members of Eupleridae) a family of small A snake is an elongate Reptile of the suborder Serpentes Like all reptiles snakes are covered in scales. Tortoises or land Turtles are land-dwelling Reptiles of the family of Testudinidae', order Testudines. The last lion in the area was shot circa 1802. The lion ( Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four Big cats in the Genus Panthera. Leopards persisted on the mountain until perhaps the 1920s but are now extinct locally. The leopard (lɛpɚd Panthera pardus) is an Old World Mammal of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four roaring Two smaller, secretive, nocturnal carnivores, the rooikat (caracal) and the vaalboskat (also called the vaalkat or African Wild Cat) were once common on the mountain. The Caracal ( Caracal caracal) also called Persian Lynx or African Lynx, is a fiercely territorial medium-sized cat. The Wildcat ( Felis silvestris) sometimes Wild Cat or Wild-cat, is a small felid native to Europe, the western part of Asia The rooikat continues to be seen on rare occasions by mountaineers but the status of the vaalboskat is uncertain.

Himalayan tahrs, fugitive descendants of tahrs that escaped from Groote Schuur zoo in 1936, used to be common on the less accessible upper parts of the mountain. The Himalayan Tahr ( Hemitragus jemlahicus) is a large Ungulate and a close relative to the wild goat Groote Schuur (Dutch for "big barn" is an estate in Cape Town, South Africa. As an exotic species, they were almost eradicated through a culling programme initiated by the South African National Parks to make way for the reintroduction of indigenous klipspringers. South African National Parks (SANParks is the body responsible for managing South Africa 's National parks SANParks was formed in 1926 and currently manages 20 parks The Klipspringer (literally "rock jumper" in Afrikaans) Oreotragus oreotragus, also known colloquially as a mvundla (from Xhosa "umvundla" Until recently there were also small numbers of fallow deer of European origin and sambar deer from southeast Asia. The Fallow Deer ( Dama dama) is a Ruminant Mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. These were mainly in the Rhodes Memorial area but during the 1960s they could be found as far afield as Signal Hill. Rhodes Memorial on Devil's Peak in Cape Town, South Africa, is a memorial to English-born South African politician Cecil John Rhodes (1853-1902 The animals may by now have been eliminated or relocated.

History

De Villers reservoir, just to the left as the Bridle Path reaches the top of the Back Table

Antonio de Saldanha was the first European to land in Table Bay. He climbed the mighty mountain in 1503 and named it 'Table Mountain'. The great cross that the Portuguese navigator carved in the rock of Lion's Head is still traceable.

Between 1896 and 1907, five dams, the Woodhead, Hely-Hutchinson, De Villiers, Alexandria and Victoria reservoirs, were opened on the Back Table to supply Cape Town's water needs. A ropeway ascending from Camps Bay via Kasteelspoort ravine was used to ferry materials and manpower (the anchor points at the old top station can still be seen). Camps Bay is an affluent Suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. In the European winter it There is a well-preserved steam locomotive from this period housed in the Waterworks Museum at the top of the mountain near the Hely-Hutchinson dam. The Waterworks Museum is located on the northern side of Table Mountain, between the Woodhead and Hely Hutchinson Reservoirs in Cape Town, South Africa It had been used to haul materials for the dam across the flat top of the mountain. Cape Town's water requirements have since far outpaced the capacity of the dams and they are no longer an important part of the water supply.

The mountain became part of the new Cape Peninsula National Park in the 1990s. The park was renamed to the Table Mountain National Park in 1998. For information about the 2006 fire that occurred here please see 2006 Table Mountain fire Table Mountain National Park, previously known

Fires are common on the mountain. The most recent major fire came in January 2006, destroying large amounts of vegetation and resulting in the death of a tourist. The Table Mountain fire was a large Fire in and around the Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town, South Africa. A charge of arson and culpable homicide was laid against a British man who was suspected of starting the blaze.

Cableway

Table Mountain Aerial Cable Car

The Table Mountain Cableway^[5] takes passengers from the lower cable station on Tafelberg Road, about 302 m above sea level, to the plateau at the top of the mountain. The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway is a cableway to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. The upper cable station offers views overlooking Cape Town, Table Bay and Robben Island to the north, and the Atlantic seaboard to the west and south. Table Bay ( Afrikaans Tafelbaai) is a natural inlet overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula which stretches Robben Island ( Afrikaans Robbeneiland) is an Island in Table Bay, some seven kilometres off the coast of the Cape Town bay South

Construction of the cableway was first started in 1926, and the cableway was officially opened in 1929. In 1997, the cableway was extensively upgraded, and new cars were introduced carrying 65 instead of 25 passengers. The new cars give a faster journey to the summit, and rotate through 360 degrees during the ascent or descent, giving a panoramic view over the city.

The top cable station offers viewpoints, curio shops, a restaurant and walking trails of various lengths.

Activities

Hiking

Winter ascent of Table Mountain. Hikers set out on one of the many popular trails

The concrete part of the Bridle Path - the most gradually-inclined route to the Back Table

Hiking on Table Mountain is popular amongst locals and tourists, and a number of trails of varying difficulty are available. Because of the steep cliffs around the summit, direct ascents from the city side are limited. Platteklip Gorge, a prominent gorge up the centre of the main table, is a popular and straightforward direct ascent to the summit. Par for the course is about 2. 5 hours but is done between 1-3 hours depending on ones fitness level.

Longer routes to the summit go via the Back Table, a lower area of Table Mountain to the South of the main plateau. From the Southern Suburbs side, the Nursery Ravine and Skeleton Gorge routes start at Kirstenbosch. The route via Skeleton Gorge to Maclears Beacon is known as Smuts Track in memory of Jan Smuts, who was a keen hiker. Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, PC, ED, KC, FRS (24 May 1870 &ndash 11 September 1950 was a prominent The Bridle Path, or Jeep Track, makes a more gradual ascent from Constantia Nek along the road used to service the dams on Back Table. There are many other paths in popular walking ares on the lower slopes of the mountain accessed from Constantia Nek, Cecilia Forest, Kirstenbosch, Newlands Forest and Rhodes Memorial.

On the Atlantic side, the most popular ascent is Kasteelspoort, a gorge overlooking Camps Bay, while the Pipe Track is a level route popular with walkers. Camps Bay is an affluent Suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. In the European winter it

The Hoerikwaggo Trails^[6] are four hiking trails on Table Mountain ranging from two to six days, operated by South African National Parks. The original inhabitants of Cape Town, the Khoekhoen and San tribes called Table Mountain Hoerikwaggo – "sea mountain". The four Table Mountain hiking trails are called the People's Trail, Table Mountain Trail, Orangekloof Hiking Trail and Top to Tip Trail. ^[7]

Rock climbing

Rock climbing on Table Mountain is a very popular pastime. Rock climbing is a Sport in which participants climb up or across natural rock formations or man-made rock walls with the goal of reaching the There are well-documented climbing routes of varying degrees of difficulty up the many faces of the mountain. As the mountain is part of the Cape Floral Region which is a World Heritage Site, no bolting can be done here and only traditional climbing is allowed. The Cape floristic region is a Floristic region located in South Africa. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Traditional climbing, or Trad climbing, is a style of Climbing that emphasizesthe skills necessary for establishing routes in an exploratory fashion Commercial groups also offer abseiling from the upper cable station.

Caving

Most of the world's important caves occur in limestone but Table Mountain is unusual amongst speleologists for having several large sandstone cave systems. Limestone is a Sedimentary rock composed largely of the Mineral Calcite ( Calcium carbonate: CaCO3 Speleology is the scientific study of Caves and other Karst features their make-up structure physical properties history life forms and the processes by The biggest systems are the Wynberg Caves, located on the Back Table, not far from the Jeep Track in ridges overlooking Orange Kloof and Hout Bay. Hout Bay ( Afrikaans: Houtbaai, from the Dutch for "Wood Bay" is the name of a coastal suburb of Cape Town, South Africa

"Mensa" constellation

Table Mountain is the only terrestrial feature to give its name to a constellation — Mensa, meaning The Table. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 In common usage a constellation is a group of celestial bodies that are connected together in some arrangement typically stars to form a visible figure or picture Mensa (ˈmɛnsə table) is a southern Constellation which was first introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille under the name Mons Mensae ( The constellation is seen in the Southern Hemisphere, below Orion, around midnight in mid-July. Southern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is South of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' Orion (ɒˈraɪən a Constellation often referred to as The Hunter, is a prominent constellation one of the largest and perhaps the best-known and most conspicuous It was named by the French astronomer Nicolas de Lacaille during his stay at the Cape in the mid eighteenth century. Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille ( March 15, 1713 &ndash March 21, 1762) was a French Astronomer. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system

Gallery

View from Signal Hill with Devil's Peak to the left	Upper Cable Station	The cable car with Robben Island in the background	Cape Town, Signal Hill, Table Bay and Robben Island as seen from the upper cable station of the Table Mountain Cableway. Signal Hill is a landmark flat-topped hill located in Cape Town, next to Lion's Head and Table Mountain. There are several places named Devil's Peak. Devil's Peak (Cape Town of Cape Town in South Africa Devil's Peak Hong Kong in China Robben Island ( Afrikaans Robbeneiland) is an Island in Table Bay, some seven kilometres off the coast of the Cape Town bay South Cape Town (Kaapstad Xhosa: Ikapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the Signal Hill is a landmark flat-topped hill located in Cape Town, next to Lion's Head and Table Mountain. Table Bay ( Afrikaans Tafelbaai) is a natural inlet overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula which stretches Robben Island ( Afrikaans Robbeneiland) is an Island in Table Bay, some seven kilometres off the coast of the Cape Town bay South
Table Mountain and Cape Town seen from Bloubergstrand. Cape Town (Kaapstad Xhosa: Ikapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the Bloubergstrand (ˈblɔːbɚgˈstrɑːnd is a suburb of Cape Town located on the shores of Table Bay, about 25km to the north of the city centre

See also

• Table Mountain travel guide from Wikitravel

References

External links

• Table Mountain National Park official site
• Nature South Africa Includes links to maps and hikes
• Panoramic virtual tour
• Table Mountain travel guide