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Table Mountain (
Khoikhoi:
Hoerikwaggo,
Afrikaans:
Tafelberg) is a flat-topped
mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of
Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant
tourist attraction, with many visitors using the
cableway or hiking to the top. The mountain forms part of the
Table Mountain National Park.The main feature of Table Mountain is the level plateau approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) from side to side, edged by impressive cliffs. The plateau, flanked by
Devil's Peak to the east and by
Lion's Head to the west, forms a dramatic backdrop to Cape Town. This broad sweep of mountainous heights, together with
Signal Hill, forms the natural
amphitheatre of the
City Bowl and
Table Bay harbour. The highest point on Table Mountain is towards the eastern end of the plateau and is marked by Maclear's Beacon, a stone cairn built in 1865 by Sir
Thomas Maclear for trigonometrical survey. It is 1,086 metres (3,563 ft) above sea level, and about 19 metres (62 ft) higher than the
cable station at the western end of the plateau.
The cliffs of the main plateau are split by Platteklip Gorge ("Flat Stone Gorge"), which provides an easy and direct ascent to the summit and was the route taken by
António de Saldanha on the first recorded ascent of the mountain in 1503.
[2]
The flat top of the mountain is often covered by
orographic clouds, formed when a south-easterly wind is directed up the mountain's slopes into colder air, where the moisture condenses to form the so-called "table cloth" of cloud. Legend attributes this phenomenon to a
smoking contest between the
Devil and a local
pirate called Van Hunks.
[3] When the table cloth is seen, it symbolizes the contest.
Table Mountain is at the northern end of a
sandstone mountain range that forms the spine of the
Cape Peninsula that terminates approximately 50 km to the south at the
Cape of Good Hope and
Cape Point. Immediately to the south of Table Mountain is a rugged "plateau" at a somewhat lower elevation than the Table Mountain Plateau (at about 1000 m), called the "Back Table". The "Back Table" extends southwards for approximately 6 km to the
Constantia Nek-
Hout Bay valley. The
Atlantic side of the Back Table, is known as the Twelve Apostles, which extends from Kloof Nek (the saddle between Table Mountain and
Lion's Head) to
Hout Bay. The eastern side of this portion of the Peninsula's mountain chain, extending from
Devil's Peak, the eastern side of Table Mountain (Erica and Fernwood Buttresses), and the Back Table to
Constantia Nek, does not have single name, as on the western side. It is better known by the names of the conservation areas on its lower slopes: Groote Schuur Estate,
Newlands Forest,
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens,
Cecilia Forest, and
Constantia Nek.
Source: Wikipedia
The model is created at a scale of 1:50,000 with 1.5x vertical exaggeration. It features a built-in base, so it sits perfectly on a desk or in a frame.
Model Data Sources: ESA, JAXA