This week's Friday Field Foto highlights an iconic natural landmark - Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. Last April I took a trip to this region to look at some Permian sedimentary rocks. We had about a day in Cape Town before heading north to the field area and spent a nice afternoon trying not to sleep (jet lag) and taking in the sites of the city. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to get to the top to take in the breathtaking views.
This view of the looming flat-topped mountain, called Table Mountain, is from the main tourist area along the waterfront (we went to a great Portuguese restaurant!).
I'm sure Christie at the Cape can provide much more detail about the geology of this mountain. If I remember, the prominent gray layered rocks in the upper half of the mountain are part of the Ordovician (443-488 million years old) Table Mountain Sandstone. Below that (again, if I remember correctly) is Precambrian metamorphic rocks that is intruded, in places, by granite.
Happy Friday!
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