Cape Town - geography.

Cape Town - geography. I INTRODUCTION Cape Town (Afrikaans Kaapstad), city in southwestern South Africa, the legislative capital of the country and the capital of Western Cape province. Cape Town is one of three national capitals, along with Pretoria (the executive capital) and Bloemfontein (the judicial capital). It is situated at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, about 50 km (about 30 mi) north of the Cape of Good Hope. The city has a spectacular setting, cradled by the steep slopes of Table Mountain to the south, Devil's Peak to the southeast, Lion's Head to the southwest, and Signal Hill to the west. Table Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, lies to the northwest. The site of the first European settlement in South Africa (founded in 1652), Cape Town is today a major port, an industrial hub, and a center of culture and tourism. The city has a Mediterranean climate, with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. II DESCRIPTION Central Cape Town, the oldest part of the city, is situated between Table Mountain and Table Bay. Today this area is home to numerous high-rise buildings and the city's commercial center. Sprawling suburbs surround central Cape Town, with residential areas spreading up the lower slopes of Table Mountain and around the mountain to the southwest and southeast. Residential and industrial areas also extend across the Cape Peninsula to the south. One of Cape Town's most important historic sites--and the oldest building in the city--is the Castle, a stone fort buil...