South Table Mountain
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| South Table Mountain | |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 6,319 feet |
| Location | Golden, Colorado |
| Range | Front Range |
| Prominence | Castle Rock |
| Coordinates | |
| Topo map | USGS Golden |
| Type | Mesa |
| First ascent | 1859 |
| Easiest route | South slope via Quaker Street |
South Table Mountain is a mesa located just southeast of Golden, Colorado in Jefferson County, Colorado. Its most disctinctive feature is its cap of basalt rock formed from ancient lava flows. South Table Mountain is a popular scenic and recreational destination of 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 projecting from the mesa's northwest end. The mountain has a twin formation nearby, known as North Table Mountain.
[edit] History
In times far past South Table Mountain was ascended and used by American Indian tribes of the region, and archaeological remains are known to exist on its top. A piece of grape shot thought to be from either Spanish explorers or fur traders was found by Arthur Lakes on the mesa top in April 1895. The earliest recorded ascents of the mesa occurred during the Colorado Gold Rush in 1859. In 1906 father and son William H. and Clyde L. Ashworth built the original Castle Rock Resort, a cafe atop Castle Rock, where visitors were taken by burro up a trail up the north flank of Castle Rock. After vandalism destroyed it in 1907 the venture was abandoned until Charles F. Quaintance revived it in 1908 with a new cafe and burro train and a road built by Harry Hartzell from the south slope. This was supplemented in 1913 with a lighthouse, dance hall and funicular incline railway to the top. Business faded with the advent of the Denver Mountain Parks, and the funicular rails were salvaged for the allied effort in World War I in 1918. The idle resort was taken over by the Ku Klux Klan during the 1920s as a major meeting and ceremonial place during its rise to power in Colorado. The resort burned to the ground in an arson fire in 1927. During the 1910s-20s the city of Denver quarried gravel from the mountain's northeast alcove. In 1935 the Works Progress Administration built the Colorado Amphitheatre for Camp George West on its southern side. Developers in 1957 originally wanted to build the Magic Mountain theme park at its northeastern alcove until residents of Applewood protested and convinced them to build elsewhere. Subsequent attempts to develop or quarry the mountain including condominiums and a corporate headquarters continued through the remainder of the 20th century and the mesa was gradually purchased or placed under easement by Jefferson County for open space. Today much of South Table Mountain is open to the public, while southern portions are occupied by the Colorado State Patrol and National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
[edit] Feature Names
Although not necessarily recorded on USGS maps, several historically named features are part of South Table Mountain:
- Castle Rock, originally known as Table Rock, butte prominence at northwest end
- Slaughterhouse Gulch, a gulch upon its northern slope, likely named for farms once in the Coors Brewery valley
- Long Gulch, a lengthy gulch along Quaker Street on the south slope
- Crystal Springs, natural water springs in the vicinity of the head of Long Gulch
[edit] Wildlife
Among the animals known to frequent the mesa through time include mountain sheep, mountain lions, deer, elk and more. Of these most except for the mountain sheep continue to live upon the mountain today.
