South Table Mountain, the broad mesa east of downtown Golden, is one of the Denver area's most distinctive landforms, shaped by lava flows about 62 to 64 million years ago and underlain by older sedimentary rocks including an exposure of the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. American Indian groups used the mesa long before recorded climbs, and George A. Jackson, Thomas L. Golden, and companions made the earliest ascent by named people in 1859 during the Colorado Gold Rush. Its later history included a hilltop resort, Ku Klux Klan gatherings, quarrying, an amphitheater, and failed development schemes. Much of the mountain is now protected open space valued for hiking, views, and wildlife.

Fairmount, Colorado · USA