Breede River Valley is a region of Western Cape Province, South Africa known for being the largest fruit and wine producing valley in the Western Cape, as well as South Africa's leading race-horse breeding area. It is part of the Boland bordering on becoming Little Karoo towards the east.
The Breede River Valley is relatively broad and flat for a Western Cape valley, averaging at a floor height of 80m-250m above sea-level. Western regions are mostly alluvial and flat, while eastern regions have more hills of the Bokkeveld Group with narrow alluvial deposits. The valley is framed by the high mountains of the Cape Fold Belt, with the Hex River Mountains and the Skurweberge to the northwest, the Langeberg Mountains (up to 2000m) to the north, the smaller Boland Mountains to the southwest, and the Riviersonderend Mountains to the south. It stretches from Tulbagh in the north to McGregor in the south and Rawsonville in the west to Ashton and Bonnievale in the east. Its namesake, the Breede River, flows through the broad valley as a consequent stream.
The largest town in the valley is Worcester, which lies almost in the centre of the valley, virtually equidistant from Tulbagh in the north and the other major town, Robertson to the south-east. The main north-south rail and road routes traverse the valley, including the N1 highway linking Cape Town and Johannesburg.
It is climatically diverse, however it completely falls within a Mediterranean Climate with most precipitation falling in winter (May through September). Towards the north and west, rainfall approaches upwards of 1000mm p.a., particularly in the Slanghoek Region near Rawsonville, whilst it becomes drier towards the south and west, with most areas averaging 300mm p.a., with areas near Worcester only receiving 175mm p.a. Thus Karoo Shrub dominates eastern hills (particularly the unique Robertson Karoo vegetation type) with lush Fynbos vegetation dominating western regions.
Summers can be very hot, due to its inland location, usually averaging 30 °C from December to March, but sometimes peaking near 40 °C during the hottest of days. This is due to the Du Toitskloof and Riviersonderend Mountains blocking cooling oceanic breezes from reaching the valley. During winter however, the valley is often colder than other seaward regions, like the Overberg. Snow is a regular occurrence on the surrounding mountains; snow does not fall on the valley floor, although light frost does occasionally occur. Spring and Autumn are transitional periods of variable rainfall, occasional light snow on the highest peaks and mild temperatures.
South Africa occupies the southern tip of Africa, its coastline stretching more than 2,850 kilometres from the desert border with Namibia on the Atlantic (western) coast southwards around the tip of Africa and then northeast to the border with Mozambique on the Indian Ocean. The low-lying coastal zone is narrow for much of that distance, soon giving way to a mountainous escarpment that separates the coast from the high inland plateau. In some places, notably the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the east, a greater distance separates the coast from the escarpment. Although much of the country is classified as semi-arid, it has considerable variation in climate as well as topography. The total land area is 1,220,813 km2 (471,359 sq mi). It has the 23rd largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 1,535,538 km2 (592,875 sq mi).
Fynbos is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate and rainy winters. The fynbos ecoregion is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. In fields related to biogeography, fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism, consisting about 80% species of the Cape floral kingdom where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic. This land continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to the many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it.
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of 129,449 square kilometres (49,981 sq mi), and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George.
Langeberg Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2011 it had a population of 97,724. Its municipality code is WC026.
The Cape Winelands District Municipality, formerly the Boland District Municipality, is a district municipality located in the Boland region of the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2011, it had a population of 787,490. The largest towns in the municipality are Paarl, Worcester, Stellenbosch and Wellington.
Breede Valley Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2007, it had a population of 166,825. Its municipality code is WC025.
The Breede River, also known as Breë River, is a river in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Travelling inland north from Cape Town, the river runs in a west to east direction. The surrounding western mountains formed the first continental divide experienced by European settlers in the 18th century. The Titus River and Dwars River become the Breë River.
Worcester is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is located 120 kilometres (75 mi) north-east of Cape Town on the N1 highway north to Johannesburg.
Rawsonville is a small wine growing and farming community in the Breede River Valley of the Western Cape province of South Africa. The town forms part of the Breede Valley Local Municipality, and is located in a scenic portion of the valley on the eastern flanks of the Du Toitskloof Mountains.
The wine regions of South Africa were defined under the "Wine of Origin" act of 1973. Mirroring the French Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) system, all South African wines listing a "Wine of Origin" must be composed entirely of grapes from its region. The "Wine of Origins" (WO) program mandates how wine regions of South Africa are defined and can appear on wine labels. While some aspects of the WO are taken from the AOC, the WO is primarily concerned with accuracy in labeling. As a result, the WO does not place adjunct regulations on wine regions such as delineating permitted varieties, trellising methods, irrigation techniques, and crop yields.
Wolseley is a small town in the upper Breede River Valley region of the Western Cape province of South Africa. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,528 people. It is located 90 kilometres (60 mi) northeast of Cape Town, in the Land van Waveren valley between the Waterval Mountains to the west and the Witzenberg Mountains to the east.
The Boland is a region of the Western Cape province of South Africa, situated to the northeast of Cape Town in the middle and upper courses of the Berg and Breede Rivers, around the Boland Mountains of the central Cape Fold Belt. It is sometimes also referred to as the Cape Winelands because it is the primary region for the making of Western Cape wine.
The Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden is a botanical garden focused on succulents and other plants of arid regions, that lies at the foot of the Hex River Mountains range, in the town of Worcester, South Africa.
Robertson Karoo is a semi-arid vegetation type, restricted to sections of the Breede River Valley, Western Cape Province, South Africa. It is a subtype of Succulent Karoo and is characterised by the dominance of succulent plant species, and by several endemic plants and animals.
Gasteria disticha is succulent plant native to the Western Cape, South Africa.
Conophytum ficiforme is a small South African species of succulent plant of the genus Conophytum.
The Breedekloof wine district is one of three districts in the Breede River Valley wine region. It boasts a total of 28 wine cellars. The Breedekloof represents 14.24% of wine grape vineyard plantings in South Africa. Most traditional cultivars can be found in the Breedekloof, with Chenin Blanc being the most planted.
The Hex River is a tributary of the Breede River located in the Western Cape of South Africa. The most important settlements along the river are the small towns of De Doorns and Touws River.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Breede River Valley . |