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Table Mountain Trivia Questions

How much do you really know about Table Mountain? Below are 8 true or false statements. Click each one to reveal the answer and explanation.

1.

Table Mountain hosts over 2,200 plant species, more than the entire United Kingdom.

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Medium
✓ TRUE

Table Mountain, in the Cape Floristic Region, contains over 2,200 plant species, surpassing the United Kingdom's roughly 1,500 native plant species.

2.

The cable car to the summit was built in 1929 and has never been upgraded since.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

It was upgraded in 1997 with rotating floors, and the original 1929 system was replaced decades earlier.

3.

Table Mountain is actually a flat-topped volcano that last erupted 10,000 years ago.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

It's not volcanic; it's a sandstone plateau formed by erosion, not lava or eruptions.

4.

The cloud that often covers Table Mountain is called the 'tablecloth' and is caused by orographic lifting.

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Medium
✓ TRUE

Southeast winds push moist air up the mountain, cooling it into a dense fog that drapes over the flat top.

5.

There are no mammals native to the top of Table Mountain—only birds and insects live there.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

Dassies (rock hyraxes) are common on the summit, along with porcupines and mongoose.

6.

Table Mountain is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for its unique geology and biodiversity.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

It's part of the Cape Floristic Region UNESCO site, but Table Mountain itself is not individually listed as a World Heritage Site.

7.

The sandstone that forms the upper plateau of Table Mountain was deposited over 450 million years ago during the Ordovician period.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

The Table Mountain Sandstone is part of the Cape Supergroup, deposited in the Ordovician (about 450–500 million years ago). This makes the rock very old, though the mountain's current shape is a result of much later erosion.

8.

Table Mountain was named by Portuguese explorer Antonio de Saldanha in 1503.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

He called it 'Taboa do Cabo' (Table of the Cape) because of its flat summit.

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