North Table Mountain
| North Table Mountain | |
|---|---|
View looking northeast from the top of Lookout Mountain.
|
|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 6,555 ft (1,998 m) |
| Isolation | 2.18 mi (3.51 km) |
| Coordinates | 39°47′30″N 105°12′03″W / 39.7915537°N 105.2007859°WCoordinates: 39°47′30″N 105°12′03″W / 39.7915537°N 105.2007859°W |
| Geography | |
 North Table Mountain
|
|
| Location | Jefferson County, Colorado, U.S. |
| Parent range | Front Range foothills |
| Topo map |
USGS 7.5' topographic map Golden, Colorado |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Mesa |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1840s by Black Kettle and tribe |
| Easiest route | Quarry road up west slope |
North Table Mountain is a mesa on the eastern flank of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 6,555-foot (1,998 m) mesa summit is located in North Table Mountain Park, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) north by east (bearing 9°) of downtown Golden, Colorado, United States, in Jefferson County.
The most distinctive feature of the mesa is its nearly flat cap that was formed by ancient Paleocene lava flows. It is separated from companion South Table Mountain, which consists of the same geologic formation, by Clear Creek.
North Table Mountain is a popular scenic and recreational destination in the Denver metro area, and it is preserved as public open space by Jefferson County and the Access Fund. Recent and ongoing projects by Jefferson County Open Space have resulted in the construction of several new trails and eliminated large numbers of unofficial trails.
North 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 nearby South Table Mountain.
Three prominent, columnar jointed, cliff-forming lava flows can be seen on North Table Mountain, one exposed part way up the northwest slope, and two that form its cap. The Ralston Dike, a body of intrusive monzonite located about 2 miles (3.2 km) 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 monzonite (the lowest flow) and latite (the upper two flows), or as shoshonite. They contain the minerals augite, plagioclase, and olivine altered to serpentine, with accessory sanidine and/or orthoclase, apatite, magnetite, and biotite.
...
Wikipedia