What is Table Mountain?
[[File:Table_Mountain_DanieVDM.jpg|thumb|Table Mountain, seen here from the north, is flanked by Devil's Peak, left, and Lion's Head, right.]] [[File:Satellite image of Cape peninsula.jpg|thumb|Cape Peninsula and Table Mountain—[[Landsat]] image. [[Cape Town]] and the [[Cape of Good Hope]], [[South Africa]], appear in the foreground. The city center is at Table Bay (lower left), next to Table Mountain. The large bay facing right (South) is False Bay.<ref name=landsat>{{cite web|url=http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04961|year=2000|title=Cape Town, South Africa, Perspective View|publisher=NASA/JPL/NIMA|accessdate=2006-12-22}}</ref>]] '''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 [[Tourism|tourist attraction]], featured in the flag of Cape Town and other local government insignia.<ref>[http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/Pages/default.aspx Cape Town local government services website]</ref> Many visitors use the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway or hike to the top. The mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. == Geology == The upper part of the mountain ''mesa'' (table) consists [[Silurian]]/[[Ordovician]] [[quartz]]itic [[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 [[mica]]ceous [[shale]], which weathers quite readily. The [[Basement (geology)|basement]] of folded [[Metamorphic rock|metamorphic]] shales intruded by the Cape [[Granite]] are of late [[Precambrian]] age.<ref name=uct-geology>{{cite web | url=http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/geolsci/cape.htm | title=Geology of the Cape Peninsula | work=University of Cape Town Department of Geological Sciences | accessdate=2006-07-20 | archive-date=2010-03-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20