Cape Town

Waterfront harbour of Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town is the second biggest city of South Africa. It is also home to the South African Parliament where the country's representatives assemble.

It is at the Cape of Good Hope on the south-west coast. It has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate.

The city's dominant natural feature is Table Mountain, a mountain with a flat top.

History

It was originally called the "Cape of Storms" by Bartolomeu Dias in 1486, a Portuguese explorer but was changed by King John II of Portugal to "Cape of Good Hope". The town was started as the center of the Dutch Cape Colony in 1652.

Cape Town Media

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  Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias planting the cross at Cape Point, 1488.

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  Adderley Street in 1897 was an important commercial hub in Cape Town at a time when the city was the most important centre of economic activity in the Southern Africa region.

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  An aerial photograph of the newly completed Cape Town foreshore in 1945. Visible in this photograph as the large area of empty land between the City Centre and the newly constructed harbour out of reclaimed land from Table Bay.

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  Devil's Peak, Table Mountain and Lion's Head

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  Satellite image of Cape Town showing the Cape Peninsula (left), Cape Flats and False Bay

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  Satellite image 3D of the City Bowl and Table Mountain

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  Geological map of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay

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  Llandudno, Western Cape during a sunny day

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  Charts of sea surface temperature in and near False Bay in summer and winter

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  Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos growing in Table Mountain National Park.