Editing Table Mountain (section)

==Features==
[[File:BRENDON WAINWRIGHT - Table Mountain 1.jpg|thumb|right|Table Mountain as seen from [[Lion's Head (Cape Town)|Lion's Head]], with low-lying cloud cover over Cape Town]]
[[File:Cape Town under the clouds.webm|thumb|Cape Town under the clouds]]

The main feature of Table Mountain is the level [[plateau]] approximately {{convert|3|km|mi|0|spell=in}} from side to side, edged by steep cliffs. The plateau, flanked by [[Devil's Peak (Cape Town)|Devil's Peak]] to the east and by [[Lion's Head (Cape Town)|Lion's Head]] to the west, forms a dramatic backdrop to Cape Town. This broad sweep of mountainous heights, together with [[Signal Hill (Cape Town)|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 {{convert|1086|m|ft|0}} above sea level, and about {{convert|19|m|ft|0}} higher than the [[#Cableway|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.<ref name=bootsnall>{{cite web|url=http://www.bootsnall.com/travelstories/africa/dec02table.shtml|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130102070413/http://www.bootsnall.com/travelstories/africa/dec02table.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-01-02|title=Table Mountain|date=December 2002|publisher=BootsnAll Travel|access-date=2006-12-21}}</ref>

The flat top of the mountain is often covered by [[Orographic lift|orographic]] clouds, formed when a [[Cape Doctor|southeasterly 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 [[tobacco smoking|smoking]] contest between the [[Devil]] and a local [[pirate]] called Van Hunks.<ref name="CTinfo">{{cite web|url=http://www.cape-town.info/cape-town-attractions/table-mountain/|title=Cape Town Info|access-date=2009-03-27|archive-date=15 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101015033857/http://cape-town.info/cape-town-attractions/table-mountain/|url-status=live}}</ref> When the table cloth is seen, it symbolizes the contest.

Table Mountain is at the northern end of a [[Table Mountain Sandstone (Geological Formation)|sandstone mountain]] range that forms the spine of the [[Cape Peninsula]] that terminates approximately {{convert|50|km|-1||}} 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 {{cvt|1000|m|disp=or||}}), called the "Back Table". The "Back Table" extends southwards for approximately 6&nbsp;km to the [[Constantia Nek]]-[[Hout Bay]] valley. The [[Atlantic Ocean|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 (Cape Town)|Lion's Head]]) to [[Hout Bay]]. The eastern side of this portion of the Peninsula's mountain chain, extending from [[Devil's Peak (Cape Town)|Devil's Peak]], the eastern side of Table Mountain (Erica and Fernwood Buttresses), and the Back Table to [[Constantia Nek]], does not have a 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 Park]], and [[Constantia Nek]].

{{Multiple image
| direction = vertical
| align = center
| width1 = 900
| image1 = Cape Town Pano1.jpg
| caption1 = Panorama from the top of Table Mountain. From left to right are visible [[Lion's Head (Cape Town)|Lion's Head]], [[Signal Hill (Cape Town)|Signal Hill]], [[Robben Island]], the [[Cape Town]] city centre, [[Table Bay]], and [[Devil's Peak (Cape Town)|Devil's Peak]].
| width2 = 900
| image2 = East view of Table Mountain labelled.jpg
|caption2 = [[Devil's Peak (Cape Town)|Devil's Peak]], Table Mountain and the Back Table seen from the [[Cape Flats]]. In this view Table Mountain is seen "side on" from the east. It is the view of the mountain that greets a visitor to Cape Town arriving by road (particularly along the N2). The distance from [[Constantia Nek]] to the lower slopes of Devil's Peak on the right hand side of the photograph is {{convert|9|km|spell=in|disp=or|}} (as the crow flies).}}