South Table Mountain (Colorado)
| South Table Mountain | |
|---|---|
View looking east from the top of Lookout Mountain.
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 6,338 ft (1,932 m) |
| Prominence | 475 ft (145 m) |
| Isolation | 1.75 mi (2.82 km) |
| Coordinates | 39°45′20″N 105°12′38″W / 39.7555429°N 105.2105438°WCoordinates: 39°45′20″N 105°12′38″W / 39.7555429°N 105.2105438°W |
| Geography | |
 South Table Mountain
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| Location | Jefferson County, Colorado, U.S. |
| Parent range | Front Range foothills |
| Topo map |
United States Geological Survey 7.5' topographic map Golden, Colorado |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Mesa |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | February 14, 1859 by George Andrew Jackson, Thomas L. Golden and members of Chicago Company |
| Easiest route | South slope via Quaker Street |
South Table Mountain is a mesa on the eastern flank of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. Castle Rock, the 6,338-foot (1,932 m) summit of the mesa, is located on private property 0.56 miles (0.9 km) directly east (bearing 90°) of downtown Golden, Colorado, United States, in Jefferson County.
The most distinctive feature of the mesa is its nearly flat cap that is formed by ancient Paleocene lava flows. It is separated from companion North Table Mountain, which consists of the same geologic formation, by Clear Creek.
South Table Mountain is a popular scenic and recreational destination in the Denver metro area, and most of it is preserved as Jefferson County Open Space. Its landmark prominence is Castle Rock, a small higher butte that projects from the mesa's northwest end.
South Table Mountain is underlain by sedimentary rocks of the Denver Formation, which spans the interval from latest Cretaceous to early Paleocene time. An exposure of the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary layer has been identified and documented on its slopes.
Two prominent, columnar jointed, cliff-forming lava flows form the nearly flat cap on South Table Mountain. The Ralston Dike, a body of intrusive monzonite located about 4 miles to the northwest, probably represents the volcanic vent from which the flows erupted. The flows are about 62 to 64 million years old according to radiometric dating, which places them in the early Paleocene epoch. Generally referred to as basaltic, they are classified either as latite, or as shoshonite. They contain the minerals augite, plagioclase, and olivine altered to serpentine, with accessory sanidine and/or orthoclase, apatite, magnetite, and biotite.
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