Cape Town’s Table Mountain, Explained

What's up, guys? It's Daniel again. Today I want to give you a sneak peek into one of our courses, which is our South Africa, Cape Town course

This was done by Justin Poor, and he's an amazing animator, an amazing videographer

He's super engaging on camera, and so the whole course is really, really amazing

A couple years ago, I actually got to go to South Africa, and there I took some of these photos

which are some of my favorite panoramic photos I've ever taken, and you'll notice that they all have

one thing in common, which is this mountain. It's so beautiful, it's called Table Mountain, and Justin

does a lesson just on Table Mountain. And I'll play that for you right now

and give you a peek into this course. So enjoy. This is Table Mountain

and it's unique not only because of its distinct shape, but also because Howe was made

This mountain has roots going back to some of the world's first above-water landmasses

making it one of the oldest mountains on Earth. In fact, it's six times older than the Himalayas

and five times older than the Rockies. Yeah, it's old. And if you go back 300 million years, Table Mountain was actually at sea level

Surrounded by sandstone and softer sediments, Table Mountain's base was infused with granite

giving it strength and a resistance to erosion And what does that mean Well it means that over time millions and millions of years this allowed wind and water to eat away at those softer sediments And what was left was Table Mountain

Now, today, the mountain stretches down the coast of Cape Town with an impressive set of ridge lines called the Twelve Apostles

And the unique features of the mountain are what made Cape Town a desirable place for people to live

The mountain creates this unique, livable climate in what would otherwise be a desert

And a visible sign of this is what is known as the tablecloth. It's this white cloud system that forms above the mountain and appears to flow

off the flat top. Not to get too nerdy, but this phenomenon is called an orographic lift

and it's created when air is rapidly pushed from a low valley to higher elevation. So as air

comes off the ocean, it rises across the cliff face, picking up speed. Then this rapidly cooled

air hits high elevation, and the result creates humidity and thick layers of clouds

aka the tablecloth. Now, if you want a less scientific explanation, legend attributes this phenomenon to a smoking contest between the devil and a local pirate

called Van Hunks, who used to frequently hike the mountain. When the tablecloth is visible, it symbolizes their smoking contest

So there you go. Now you know a little bit about Table Mountain and one of Cape Town's most iconic features

Even if you don't get to go to South Africa, I think it's really interesting to learn about this stuff

I hope that this sparks something in you. And if you do want to learn more about South Africa, or if you're not to learn more about South Africa

or if you are thinking about going on a trip there. We have this whole course, which I'll link in the description below

And if you did find this video interesting or helpful, please give us a like. And please comment if you have any suggestions for topics

that you'd like for us to cover. See ya