September 22, 2014

Monday Geology Picture(s): Two Views from the Top of Table Mountain

Posted by Evelyn Mervine

My two American geologist friends, with whom I went ziplining amidst some sedimentary rocks a little over a week ago, left on Saturday. Before they left on their evening flight, we decided to go up Cape Town’s beautiful Table Mountain. We took the cable car up the mountain, hiked around on the top for a couple of hours, and then took the cable car back down. Saturday was a beautiful sunny day with good visibility, so we saw some stunning views from the top of the mountain. Here are two of them:

Table Mountain, sloping down to the city of Cape Town below.

Table Mountain, sloping down to the city of Cape Town below.

Another view from the top of Table Mountain, this time looking towards the inselberg Lion's Head (the knob of rock) and Robbin Island.

Another view from the top of Table Mountain, this time looking towards the inselberg Lion’s Head (the knob of rock) and Robbin Island.

Table Mountain is comprised of the same sandstone rocks that we saw when we went ziplining in the Cape Fold Belt. However, the sandstone rocks of Table Mountain are relatively flat and unfolded, their preservation a result of the mountain’s granite core. Here’s a figure, taken from Prof. John Compton’s book The Rocks and Mountains of Cape Town, that explains the geological relationship:

Geology of the greater Cape Town area, showing how the Table Mountain Group sedimentary rocks are related to uplifted rocks in the Cape Fold Belt. Image taken from  Compton (2004).

Geology of the greater Cape Town area, showing how the Table Mountain Group sedimentary rocks are related to uplifted rocks in the Cape Fold Belt. Image taken from Compton (2004). Click image to enlarge.