Table Mountain South, not to be confused with South Table Mountain in Golden, had a short mesa top composed of "two columnar jointed, cliff-forming lava flows" - these are generally referred to as basaltic, latite or shoshonite. They contain "augite, plagioclase, and olivine altered to serpentine, with accessory sanidine, orthoclase, apatite, magnetite, and biotite." The rock is similar in appearance to Eldorado Canyon, but it is different. Alas, it has be demolished. This was a very fine grained stone with terrific features separated by blank, featureless surfaces. The crags were 35 to 50 feet in height, largely vertical, and tended toward the moderate grades (5.8 to 5.12-). A few trad routes had been established, but, most routes were well-bolted with good lowering stations. The mesa itself faces South and East and gets good sun until later in the evening. The setting was rather bucolic being so close to civilization. Presently, there were about 25 or so routes, with not much room for more. Further West around the mountain was a decent bouldering area. I thought that this was a nice area for a change in style and pace, and if you are looking for fun, safe moderates, it was worth a visit.

Eds. The geology of the rock types quoted come from the Wikipedia entry, which may help us climbers understand a wee bit more of the rock and its properties.