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Devil's Peak (Cape Town)
Encyclopedia
Devil's Peak is part of the mountainous backdrop to Cape Town
. When looking at Table Mountain
from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
, or when looking at the standard picture postcard view of the mountain, the skyline is from left to right: the spire of Devil's Peak, the flat mesa of Table Mountain
, the dome of Lion's Head
and Signal Hill
.
The central districts of Cape Town are nestled within this natural amphitheatre
. The city grew out of a settlement founded on the shore below the mountains in 1652 by Jan van Riebeeck
, for the Dutch East India Company
. Some of the first farms in the Cape were established on the slopes of Devils Peak, along the Liesbeek River
.
Devil's Peak stands 1000 metres (3,281 ft) high, less than Table Mountain's 1087 metres (3,566.3 ft). One can walk to the top (western slopes provide the easiest approach) but the ascent is nicer and safer outside of the cold, wet, winter months of May – August.
On the Eastern slopes of Devil's Peak you will find the Rhodes Memorial
, to Cecil Rhodes, and the University of Cape Town
. From these vantages one can gaze down upon the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town and over the sandy Cape Flats
towards Stellenbosch, Somerset West and the distant Boland
mountains. Other landmarks on the Eastern slopes are Mostert's Mill
, Groote Schuur Hospital
and the Groote Schuur
estate, including a number of presidential and ministerial residences.
A number of historic military blockhouses are situated on Devil's Peak, and a number of cannons. These were intended to defend the city from attack from the South. There is an abandoned fire lookout high up on Mowbray Ridge.
On 26 May 1971 a formation of three military aircraft, flying by sight along the N2 highway, banked to the right three seconds to late, narrowly missed the University and Rhodes Memorial and ploughed into the side of the mountain. For many years a radar reflector beacon stood on Plumpudding Hill above Rhodes Memorial to prevent similar incidents.
The peak is very exposed to wind and mist, so hikers must always take care. A number of the descents on the Southern Suburbs side are very steep and wet, and are highly dangerous (particularly Second Waterfall Ravine, Dark Gorge and Els Ravine). These routes should not be attempted, as many lives have been lost by hikers taking the wrong route. The general rule that applies is to stick to known and well-marked paths, and not to push on into the unknown.
. These slopes are hotter and prone to frequent fires, and as a result the vegetation is low. Here can also be found a small stretch of critically endangered
Peninsula Shale Renosterveld
vegetation, an endemic vegetation type that used to dominate the Cape Town City Bowl
but is now mostly lost due to urban development.
The slopes on the Southern Suburbs side however, are naturally wetter and more protected from fires, so these slopes were originally partially covered with deep indigenous forests
. Some of these dense afro-montane forests
still remain in the gorges, but most of them were cut down to make way for commercial pine plantations. Near Rhodes Memorial
there are a few surviving natural stands of a famous native tree called the Silvertree
. This is possibly the last place on earth where the tree still grows wild.
During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, Devil's Peak (and other adjacent heights) were commercially planted with plantations of cluster pines
, a problematic invasive non-indigenous tree. Local authorities organized paid workers and volunteers to chop down the pines from the peak and most of them are now gone (although in Newlands Forest
on the lower reaches, pine and gum forests are still maintained for recreational purposes). The original indigenous Afro-montane forest
is also slowly re-growing on the southern slopes and above Newlands forest where the pines have been cleared. Stone pines (a non-invasive alien tree) still remain in the area around Rhodes Memorial.
Near Rhodes Memorial, some of the lower slopes of Devil's Peak are artificially maintained as savanna, and some herds of eland, wildebeest and zebra are kept there.
In the 1930s, a few Himalayan Tahr
s escaped from a zoo on the slopes of Devil's Peak and bred until their population on the Table Mountain range was over 700. A culling programme has eliminated most of them, although a few still remain. Some of the original local species of small antelope are being re-introduced to replace the tahrs. Around Rhodes Memorial there were also some feral deer of European origin, which can still be found on the lower slopes.
Indigenous animals include porcupines, caracals, small grey mongoose and rock hyrax.
commonly known as the Table Mountain sandstone
or TMS. (This is, however, no longer used as a formal geological name). The tough sandstone rests conformably upon a basal shale
that in turn lies unconformably upon a basement of older (Late Precambrian
) rocks (Malmesbury shale/slate and the Cape Granite). The basal shale and the older rocks below it weather much faster than the TMS and for this reason the lower slopes are everywhere smoother, with few outcrops and deeper soil. Millions of years of erosion have stripped all of the TMS from Signal Hill
and that is why it looks very rounded compared to its sister peaks. There is a road that runs almost on the contour from the lower cable station on Table Mountain along the mountain to Devil's Peak. As it turns east around the bulk of Devil's Peak the road cuttings expose a few famous geological unconformities, which illustrate very clearly that the Malmesbury rocks were folded, baked, intruded by granite
and planed down by millions of years of erosion before the area sank below the ocean and a new sequence of sediments, including the TMS, began to accumulate.
and Van Hunks eventually won the contest, but not before the smoke that they had made had covered the mountain, forming the table cloth cloud. The story was captured by the 19th century poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti
in his poem Jan van Hunks (alternatively called The Dutchman's Wager).
It has also been claimed that the name is a corruption of Duifespiek ("Dove's Peak") to Duiwelspiek ("Devil's Peak"), since the Dutch
the words for devil and dove are relatively close in sound.
Hawker-Siddelley HS125
(Code named Mercurius) aircraft crashed into Devil's Peak, killing all 11 on board. The aircraft were flying in close formation, practicing for a fly past during the upcoming 10th anniversary Republic Day celebrations on 31 May. A low cloud base
was cited as a contributory factor. The impact was heard throughout the surrounding suburbs and scars in the ground can still be seen today.
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. When looking at Table Mountain
Table Mountain
Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa, and is featured in the flag of Cape Town and other local government insignia. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top...
from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in the historic heart of Cape Town's working harbour is South Africa's most-visited destination, having the highest rate of foreign tourists of any attraction in the country...
, or when looking at the standard picture postcard view of the mountain, the skyline is from left to right: the spire of Devil's Peak, the flat mesa of Table Mountain
Table Mountain
Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa, and is featured in the flag of Cape Town and other local government insignia. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top...
, the dome of Lion's Head
Lion's Head (Cape Town)
Lion's Head is a mountain located in Cape Town, South Africa, between Table Mountain and Signal Hill. Lion's Head peaks at above sea level. The peak forms part of a dramatic backdrop to the city of Cape Town and is part of the Table Mountain National Park....
and Signal Hill
Signal Hill (Cape Town)
Signal Hill aka Lion's Rump, is a landmark flat-topped hill located in Cape Town, next to Lion's Head and Table Mountain.The hill is also known as "The Lion's Flank", but this term is obsolete...
.
The central districts of Cape Town are nestled within this natural amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
. The city grew out of a settlement founded on the shore below the mountains in 1652 by Jan van Riebeeck
Jan van Riebeeck
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck was a Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town.-Biography:...
, for the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
. Some of the first farms in the Cape were established on the slopes of Devils Peak, along the Liesbeek River
Liesbeek River
The Liesbeek River is a river in Cape Town in South Africa. It is named after a small river in Holland. The first "free burghers" of the Dutch East India Company were granted land to farm along the river in 1657, shortly after the first Dutch settlers arrived in the Cape. The river was...
.
Devil's Peak stands 1000 metres (3,281 ft) high, less than Table Mountain's 1087 metres (3,566.3 ft). One can walk to the top (western slopes provide the easiest approach) but the ascent is nicer and safer outside of the cold, wet, winter months of May – August.
Landmarks
Rhodes Memorial
Rhodes Memorial on Devil's Peak in Cape Town, South Africa, is a memorial to English-born South African politician Cecil John Rhodes designed by Sir Herbert Baker.-Location:...
, to Cecil Rhodes, and the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
. From these vantages one can gaze down upon the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town and over the sandy Cape Flats
Cape Flats
The Cape Flats is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. To many people in Cape Town, the area is known simply as 'The Flats'....
towards Stellenbosch, Somerset West and the distant Boland
Boland
Boland is a Irish surname . It may refer to:-People:Boland is a surname of Irish origin. The name refers to:*Adam Boland , Australian television personality...
mountains. Other landmarks on the Eastern slopes are Mostert's Mill
Mostert's Mill
Mostert's Mill is a historic windmill in Mowbray, Cape Town, South Africa. It was built in 1796 and is the oldest surviving, and only complete, windmill in South Africa.-History:...
, Groote Schuur Hospital
Groote Schuur Hospital
Groote Schuur Hospital is a large, government-funded, teaching hospital situated on the slopes of Devil's Peak in the city of Cape Town, South Africa...
and the Groote Schuur
Groote Schuur
Groote Schuur is an estate in Cape Town, South Africa.Cecil Rhodes took out a lease on the house in 1891. He later bought it in 1893, and had it converted and refurbished by the architect Sir Herbert Baker...
estate, including a number of presidential and ministerial residences.
A number of historic military blockhouses are situated on Devil's Peak, and a number of cannons. These were intended to defend the city from attack from the South. There is an abandoned fire lookout high up on Mowbray Ridge.
On 26 May 1971 a formation of three military aircraft, flying by sight along the N2 highway, banked to the right three seconds to late, narrowly missed the University and Rhodes Memorial and ploughed into the side of the mountain. For many years a radar reflector beacon stood on Plumpudding Hill above Rhodes Memorial to prevent similar incidents.
Hiking
There are a lot of easy walks on the lower slopes of the mountain. A popular short hike is from Rhodes Memorial to the King's blockhouse. The only safe ascent of the peak is from the Saddle, between the peak and Table Mountain. There are three routes to reach the Saddle: from Tafelberg Road on the city side, up Newlands Ravine from Newlands Forest, or the upper contour path from Mowbray Ridge and Minor Peak. Once on the Saddle, a straightforward path climbs directly to the summit. The 360° view from the summit is well worth the slog.The peak is very exposed to wind and mist, so hikers must always take care. A number of the descents on the Southern Suburbs side are very steep and wet, and are highly dangerous (particularly Second Waterfall Ravine, Dark Gorge and Els Ravine). These routes should not be attempted, as many lives have been lost by hikers taking the wrong route. The general rule that applies is to stick to known and well-marked paths, and not to push on into the unknown.
Vegetation
The northern slopes overlooking the city centre are covered in typical Cape Peninsula Shale FynbosFynbos
Fynbos is the natural shrubland or heathland vegetation occurring in a small belt of the Western Cape of South Africa, mainly in winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate...
. These slopes are hotter and prone to frequent fires, and as a result the vegetation is low. Here can also be found a small stretch of critically endangered
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
Peninsula Shale Renosterveld
Peninsula Shale Renosterveld
Peninsula Shale Renosterveld is a unique vegetation type that is found only on the slopes of Signal Hill and Devil's Peak in Cape Town, South Africa. It is critically endangered and exists nowhere else...
vegetation, an endemic vegetation type that used to dominate the Cape Town City Bowl
City Bowl
The City Bowl is a part of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a natural amphitheatre-shaped area bordered by Table Bay and defined by the mountains of Signal Hill, Lion's Head, Table Mountain and Devil's Peak....
but is now mostly lost due to urban development.
The slopes on the Southern Suburbs side however, are naturally wetter and more protected from fires, so these slopes were originally partially covered with deep indigenous forests
Afromontane
Afromontane is a term used to describe the Afrotropic subregion and its plant and animal species common to the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula...
. Some of these dense afro-montane forests
Afromontane
Afromontane is a term used to describe the Afrotropic subregion and its plant and animal species common to the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula...
still remain in the gorges, but most of them were cut down to make way for commercial pine plantations. Near Rhodes Memorial
Rhodes Memorial
Rhodes Memorial on Devil's Peak in Cape Town, South Africa, is a memorial to English-born South African politician Cecil John Rhodes designed by Sir Herbert Baker.-Location:...
there are a few surviving natural stands of a famous native tree called the Silvertree
Leucadendron argenteum
Leucadendron argenteum is an endangered species in the family Proteaceae, endemic to a small area of the Cape Peninsula, in and around the city of Cape Town.-Appearance:...
. This is possibly the last place on earth where the tree still grows wild.
During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, Devil's Peak (and other adjacent heights) were commercially planted with plantations of cluster pines
Maritime Pine
Pinus pinaster, the Maritime Pine, is a pine native to the western and southwestern Mediterranean region. The pejorative name 'pinaster' is derived from pinus + aster, translating as 'a poor imitation of a pine' Pinus pinaster, the Maritime Pine, is a pine native to the western and southwestern...
, a problematic invasive non-indigenous tree. Local authorities organized paid workers and volunteers to chop down the pines from the peak and most of them are now gone (although in Newlands Forest
Newlands forest
Newlands Forest is a conservancy area on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, beside the suburb of Newlands, Cape Town. It is owned and maintained by the Table Mountain National Parks Board, along with the City Parks Department of Cape Town, and includes a Fire Station, Nursery and Reservoir.The...
on the lower reaches, pine and gum forests are still maintained for recreational purposes). The original indigenous Afro-montane forest
Afromontane
Afromontane is a term used to describe the Afrotropic subregion and its plant and animal species common to the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula...
is also slowly re-growing on the southern slopes and above Newlands forest where the pines have been cleared. Stone pines (a non-invasive alien tree) still remain in the area around Rhodes Memorial.
Fauna
In the 1930s, a few Himalayan Tahr
Himalayan Tahr
The Himalayan Tahr or Common Thar is a large ungulate related to the wild goat.-Habitat:...
s escaped from a zoo on the slopes of Devil's Peak and bred until their population on the Table Mountain range was over 700. A culling programme has eliminated most of them, although a few still remain. Some of the original local species of small antelope are being re-introduced to replace the tahrs. Around Rhodes Memorial there were also some feral deer of European origin, which can still be found on the lower slopes.
Indigenous animals include porcupines, caracals, small grey mongoose and rock hyrax.
Geology
The upper, rocky parts of Devil's Peak, Table Mountain and Lion's Head consist of a hard, uniform and resistant sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
commonly known as the Table Mountain sandstone
Table Mountain sandstone
The Table Mountain Sandstone is a group of rock formations within the Cape Supergroup sequence of rocks. Although still widely used in common parlance, the term TMS is no longer formally recognized; the correct name is the "Table Mountain Group" . The sequence is dominated by quartzites of very...
or TMS. (This is, however, no longer used as a formal geological name). The tough sandstone rests conformably upon a basal shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
that in turn lies unconformably upon a basement of older (Late Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
) rocks (Malmesbury shale/slate and the Cape Granite). The basal shale and the older rocks below it weather much faster than the TMS and for this reason the lower slopes are everywhere smoother, with few outcrops and deeper soil. Millions of years of erosion have stripped all of the TMS from Signal Hill
Signal Hill (Cape Town)
Signal Hill aka Lion's Rump, is a landmark flat-topped hill located in Cape Town, next to Lion's Head and Table Mountain.The hill is also known as "The Lion's Flank", but this term is obsolete...
and that is why it looks very rounded compared to its sister peaks. There is a road that runs almost on the contour from the lower cable station on Table Mountain along the mountain to Devil's Peak. As it turns east around the bulk of Devil's Peak the road cuttings expose a few famous geological unconformities, which illustrate very clearly that the Malmesbury rocks were folded, baked, intruded by granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and planed down by millions of years of erosion before the area sank below the ocean and a new sequence of sediments, including the TMS, began to accumulate.
Origins of the name
Devil's Peak was originally known as Wind-berg or Charles Mountain. The English term Devil's Peak is a 19th century translation from the Dutch Duiwels Kop, and supposedly comes from the folk-tale about a Dutch man called Jan van Hunks, a prodigious pipe smoker who lived at the foot of the mountain circa 1700. He was forced by his wife to leave the house whenever he smoked his pipe. One day, while smoking on the slopes of the peak, he met a mysterious stranger who also smoked. They each bragged of how much they smoked and so they fell into a pipe-smoking contest. The stranger turned out to be the DevilDevil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
and Van Hunks eventually won the contest, but not before the smoke that they had made had covered the mountain, forming the table cloth cloud. The story was captured by the 19th century poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
in his poem Jan van Hunks (alternatively called The Dutchman's Wager).
It has also been claimed that the name is a corruption of Duifespiek ("Dove's Peak") to Duiwelspiek ("Devil's Peak"), since the Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
the words for devil and dove are relatively close in sound.
1971 Plane Crash
On 26 May 1971, three South African Air ForceSouth African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
Hawker-Siddelley HS125
British Aerospace BAe 125
The British Aerospace 125 is a twin-engined mid-size corporate jet, with newer variants now marketed as the Hawker 800. It was known as the Hawker Siddeley HS.125 until 1977...
(Code named Mercurius) aircraft crashed into Devil's Peak, killing all 11 on board. The aircraft were flying in close formation, practicing for a fly past during the upcoming 10th anniversary Republic Day celebrations on 31 May. A low cloud base
Cloud base
This article refers to meteorology. For the airborne base of the TV series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, see Cloudbase.The cloud base is the lowest altitude of the visible portion of the cloud...
was cited as a contributory factor. The impact was heard throughout the surrounding suburbs and scars in the ground can still be seen today.