Table Mountain: Wonder of Nature at the Foot of Africa

Abstract

The geology in the vicinity of the city of Cape Town is exceptional for its spectacular scenery, distinctive geomorphology, the diversity of rock types and contacts on display, and its relation to the highly diverse natural fynbos vegetation. The iconic Table Mountain rises over 1,000 m above the city centre and forms the focus of the recently established Table Mountain National Park. The most obvious geomorphological features are the dramatic cliff faces and steep slopes that expose the three main rock types of the area: metamorphic rocks of the Malmesbury Group, igneous rocks of the Cape Granite Suite (including intrusions of dolerite dykes) and sedimentary rocks of the Table Mountain Group. Tectonism along with differences in weathering processes of different rock types has combined to give the distinctive flat-top of Table Mountain, the rounded, smooth slopes of the Tygerberg, Signal Hill and Paarl Rock, and the expansive Cape Flats in between.