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Mesa Mountain, a denomination translated from Afrikaans Tafelberg or Table Mountain, is a large flat ridge mountain that dominates the landscape of Cape Town, South Africa. It is represented on the flag, the shield and official documents of the city .

It is also an important tourist attraction accessed by visitors, either by cable car or by hiking. It is part of a national park that bears his name.

The main feature of Table Mountain is the plateau about 3 km long, surrounded by high bolls. It extends from the called Devil's Peak to the east to the Lion's Head to the west, forming the natural amphitheater that surrounds Mesa Bay. It reaches the altitude of 1084.6 m near its eastern extremity. It was marked in 1865 by a stone landmark, the Maclear's Beacon, placed on the occasion of a survey 19 meters high, above the west side, where the cable car station is.



Among the canyons opens Platteklip gorge, which allows easy access to the summit and was also the route used by the Portuguese navigator António de Saldanha in the first documented ascent of the mountain in 1503. [2] It was also he who, by reason of the extensive and flat peak, called it "mountain of the Table", and who carved the cross that still can be seen in the vicinity of the Lion's Head.

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