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Table Mountain (South Africa)

Table Mountain
Table Mountain viewed from Cape Town.
Elevation:	1,086 metres (3,566 feet)
Latitude:	33° 57′ S
Longitude:	18° 25′ E
Location:	Cape Province, South Africa
Type:	sandstone
First ascent:	1503 by Antonio de Saldanha
Easiest route:	hike

Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain in South Africa that overlooks Cape Town. It is approximately three kilometers wide.

Looking south over the city it is flanked on the left (east) by the triangular Devil's Peak (1000 m) and on the right by the rounded Lion's Head (669 m) and Signal Hill. It is the northern end of a range of mountains which stretches south down the length of the Cape Peninsula. The mountain-top is often covered by cloud, which forms the famous "table cloth".

The mountain's highest point at Maclear's beacon is 1086 metres (3 563 feet) above sea level. This point is named for a stone-cairn beacon built there in 1865 by Sir Thomas Maclear for trigonometrical survey. Maclear's beacon is not much of a peak - it is the highest point on the plateau, only 19 meters higher than the cable car station at 1067 m. A particularly dangerous location is Carell's ledge, which is a sheer drop at the top middle of the view shown, not far from Maclear's beacon.

Table mountain is also in the unique position of being the only terrestrial feature to give its name to a constellation; "Mensa", meaning "The table". The mountain is seen right-side up in the Southern Hemisphere, below Orion, around midnight in mid-July. It was named by the French astronomer Nicolas de Lacaille, during his stay at the cape in the mid eighteenth century.

The cable car

Table Mountain has a cable car at the western end that takes visitors to the top. It is a popular tourist attraction. Apart from spectacular views, there is a restaurant, curio shops and clearly marked walking trails for visitors at the top of Table Mountain.

The upper cable car station is visible at the top right of the image.

The cable car system only operates in good weather as gale-force winds can make it dangerous. Visitors should plan their trips on the cable car for clear days (when the mountain is not covered with its cloud "table cloth"), as the cloud obscures the views from the top.

The cable car was opened on 4 October 1929. An improved cable car reopened on 4 October 1997, with the capacity increased from 25 to 65 persons. The new cable car is circular, and rotates as it travels, to give good views to all.

When hiking on the mountain

See the External Links section for route guides. Table mountain is not a particularly dangerous mountain, nevertheless caution should be excercised:

• Take a hat and suncream, especially if you are not used to the South African sun.
• Take a warm garment even if you don't think you'll need one. The weather is cooler on top, and can change rapidly. You could find yourself inside a cloud. It can be cold and damp with a lot of wind chill up there. If there is any posiblity of bad weather, take a waterproof garment. The top of table mountain is about the only place on the Cape Peninsula that gets frost on cold winter nights.
• Take water. The streams on the mountain are drinkable, if stained deep brown by vegetation. However they may be dry in summer and there is a risk of Guardia.
• Do not start fires outside of the demarcated fireplaces. There are too many bush-fires in summer. There are no demarcated fireplaces on the top.
• Take a map, or someone who knows the way.
• Tell someone where you are going, don't hike alone, don't stray from the path in the dark or mist. There are a few cliffs and dead-end ravines that could be fatal.
• You might get mobile phone reception on parts of the mountain (especially when overlooking the urban areas that surround it), but don't count on it.

Geology

The upper part of the mountain consists of Ordovician quartzitic sandstone (Table Mountain Sandstone) lying above the Precambrian Malmesbury shale which has been intruded into by Cape granites. The Cape granites are clearly visible on the Western side of Lion's Head.

Plants and animals

The vegetation of the mountain is the unique and rich cape fynbos. An estimated 1470 species of plants are found on the mountain.

The most common animal on the mountain is the dassie, or rock hyrax, an animal like a bunny-sized brown guinea pig. They especially cluster near the upper cable station, near the sources of junk food. You'll find baboons, some snakes and tortoises, and a few Himalayan tahrs, fugitive descendants of tahrs that escaped from a zoo in the 1930s. The last lion in the area was shot circa 1802. They are being eradicated from the mountain.

History

The first person documented to climb the mountain was Antonio de Saldanha, in 1503. Three Dams, the Woodhead, Hely-Hutchinson and De Villliers resevoirs, were built on top of the mountain to supply Cape Town in the 1800s, and a cable car descending to Camps Bay was constructed to ferry materials and manpower. The cable car has long been replaced, but the anchor points of the old top station can still be seen. Cape Town's water requirements have far outpaced the dam's capacity, so they are no longer part of the water supply.

The mountain has been protected in the 20th century, and has been a national park since 1998.

The mountain in Cape Town

The city of Cape Town now wraps itself around Table mountain. Native Capetonians navigate the city by using the mountain as a constant landmark to judge angle and distance.