Table (landform)

A table (landform) is a high rock structure with a flat top. There are many different terms for this landform feature.

Hayrick Butte in Oregon

Table Mountain in the Catskill Mountains of New York

Kukenam tepui in Venezuela

The tuya is a structure formed by a subglacial (under ice) volcano. Lava erupts underneath an overlying glacier or ice sheet. It melts through to the surface and pools, producing the flat plateau on top with near-vertical walls along the ice-contact margin as the lava cools and hardens.

A similar landform is the tepui, which has a rather different origin. A body of hard rock resists erosion. It was originally inside a body of softer rock such as limestone, which got eroded away to form a plain. The more resistant rock is left behind as an isolated mountain. The term is used for the table-top mountains of South America. Auyán-tepui in the Guiana Highlands, Venezuela is the source of the Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall in the world. It is 19 times higher than Niagara Falls.

• Tuya
• Tepui
• Mesa
• Potrero
• Butte
• Plateau
• Terrace
• Table
  • Table hill
  • Table-topped hill
  • Table mountain
  • Tableland

Table Mountain in South Africa is the best-known example of a table landform.