Table Mountain
Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is 1084.6 meters (3,563-feet) tall, of sandstone and granite. With nearby mountains and Table Bay, it surrounds the central part of Cape Town.
It is a significant tourist attraction, featured in the flag of Cape Town and other local government insignia.[2] Many visitors use the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway or hike to the top. The mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park.
Geology
[change | change source]The upper part of the mountain mesa (table) consists Silurian/Ordovician quartzitic sandstone, commonly referred to as Table Mountain Sandstone (TMS). It is highly resistant to weathering and forms steep grey crags.
Below the sandstone is a layer of micaceous shale, which weathers quite readily. The basement of folded metamorphic shales intruded by the Cape Granite are of late Precambrian age.[3][4]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Cape Town, South Africa, Perspective View". NASA/JPL/NIMA. 2000. Retrieved 2006-12-22.
- ↑ Cape Town local government services website
- ↑ "Geology of the Cape Peninsula". University of Cape Town Department of Geological Sciences. Archived from the original on 2010-03-13. Retrieved 2006-07-20.
- ↑ "The Geology of Table Mountain". CapeConnected. Archived from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2006.
Other websites
[change | change source]
- A drawing of Table Mountain from the 1600's.