Table (landform)

Hayrick Butte in Oregon

Table Mountain in the Catskill Mountains of New York

Kukenam tepui in Venezuela

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

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.