7 reasons why Table Mountain is naturally wonderful
Photo courtesy wildimages.tv
Table Mountain is a top contender for a spot as one of the New7Wonders of Nature – a global competition, voted for by the public, that’ll select seven of Earth’s most awesome and naturally splendid icons. We’re competing against the likes of Angel Falls, the Grand Canyon and the Amazon – so here are seven reasons why we are one of the greatest. Read on, and if you agree, vote for Table Mountain!
1. Age before beauty
Table Mountain is approximately 260-million years old. By comparison, the Andes are about 250-million, the Rockies 60-million, the Himalayas 40-million and the Alps 32-million years old. The Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA, which is carved out by the Colorado River, began forming about 17-million years ago.
2. Claim to fame
Celebrities love Table Mountain. Most recently we hosted none other than Halle Berry (a natural wonder herself), Ne-Yo, Forest Whitaker, and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (who has cast his vote for Table Mountain). Sir Ian “Gandalf” McKellen tweeted about us, too!
3. Mighty fynbos
The Cape has the highest known concentration of plant species – 1 300 per 10 000km squared – and within the Table Mountain National Park lies the richest single floristic area on the planet. The Cape Floral Kingdom is one of the country’s eight World Heritage Sites.
4. From sea to shining sea
Two of the world’s oceans meet off the tip of the Cape Peninsula: the warmer Indian Ocean on the east and the colder Atlantic Ocean on the west. Double the grandeur!
5. Rock of ages
Three rock formations make up the Cape Peninsula. These are the Malmesbury group (mudstone and sandstone), Cape granite (white feldspar, black mica and grey quartz), and the Table Mountain group. The Table Mountain group includes the Graafwater formation of red and purple sandstone and mudstone, the Peninsula formation of grey, pebbled sandstone, and the Pakhuis formation, which forms the top of the mountain, with its glacial deposits of sandstone pebbles. Table Mountain also features several rare sandstone cave systems (most caves occur in limestone), the largest of which are the Wynberg Caves.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has voted for Table Mountain - have you?
6. Star attraction
The constellation Mensa was named after Table Mountain by French astrologer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1754. Lacaille studied the southern sky from the top of Table Mountain. The brightest star in the Mensa constellation is Alpha Mensae. Table Mountain is the only mountain in the world to have a constellation named after it.
7. Stuff of legends
Table Mountain’s cloudy “tablecloth” is the stuff of legends: one tells of the San mantis god smothering a blaze on the slope with a huge white karos or animal pelt. Another says the cloud comes from a smoking contest between the Devil and a local pirate called Van Hunks. Speaking of legends, on World Environment Day in 1998 Nelson Mandela declared Table Mountain “a gift to the Earth”.
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