It includes the towns of Pofadder and Aggeneys, and places such as Namies and Bosluis Pan. Extensive plains are dotted with koppies like the Gamsberg.
Bushmanland is an arid area inland from Namaqualand. It is probably the most inhospitable area in South Africa, arid and largely with infertile soil and highly saline groundwater. Its wildlife, however, both fauna and flora, though sparse, are full of interest. Although the veld is too arid to bloom like that of the West Coast of Namaqualand, even when there is some spring rain, what does appear is highly unusual and often hauntingly beautiful. Vaalputs, a nuclear waste repository, has been sited between Bushmanland and Namaqualand, and acts as a de facto nature reserve.
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 (eastern) coast. 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).
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and an international park shared with Botswana. It also includes the Augrabies Falls and the diamond mining regions in Kimberley and Alexander Bay.
Namaqualand is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over 1,000 km (600 mi) and covering a total area of 440,000 km2 (170,000 sq mi). It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into two portions – Little Namaqualand to the south and Great Namaqualand to the north.
The Karoo is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology and climate, and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of million years ago which is now represented by many fossils.
Kamiesberg Municipality is a local municipality within the Namakwa District Municipality, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
Springbok is the largest town in the Namaqualand area in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It was called Springbokfontein until 1911, when it was shortened to Springbok. Springbok is located on the N7 national route which connects the Cape with Namibia, and at the western end of the N14, which connects it with Upington and Pretoria. It is the main town of the Nama Khoi Local Municipality, which also includes a number of surrounding towns such as Okiep and Nababeep.
Loeriesfontein is a small town in the Northern Cape of South Africa. It falls within what is known as the Hantam region.
The paradise toad is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae found in Richtersveld, Bushmanland and Namaqualand regions in western South Africa and adjacent Namibia.
Aloe khamiesensis is a species of plant in the genus Aloe.
Pofadder is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. In spite of its small size, it is an important local centre in the region known in South Africa as Bushmanland. The surrounding districts are arid, sparsely populated, rugged and picturesque. There is little in the way of cropping and local farmers run sheep or goats for a living. As a tourist destination, it is not sufficiently spectacular to rival the spring flowers of the coastal regions of Namaqualand, but it has its attractions for biologists and conservationists and those with an interest in its remarkable diversity of often-tiny xerophytes and animal life. In recent years, the town economy has been boosted by the construction and operation of solar power stations.
Namaqua National Park is a South African national park situated on the edge of the Atlantic coast of Namaqualand, an area covering 55,000 km2 located within the semi-desert Succulent Karoo biome. This biome is a biodiversity hotspot with the largest concentration of succulent plants in the world. The park also has an arid environment with succulent plants. The park was created to protect its flowers. During the spring, wildflowers bloom there in a spectacular fashion. The park's main tourist attraction is this abundant spring bloom of brightly coloured wildflowers.
Vaalputs is the only South African radioactive waste-disposal facility, called the Vaalputs Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility, operated by NECSA. The facility is located about 100 km south-east of Springbok, in the Northern Cape. It covers an area of approximately 10,000 hectare, measuring 16,5 km from east to west and 6,5 km from north to south at its narrowest point.
The Kamiesberg or Kamiesberge, is a mountain range of jumbled granite inselbergs or bornhardts dotted over sandy plains and centered on Kamieskroon in Namaqualand in South Africa. This range is very like the Matopos of Zimbabwe in appearance. It stretches for about 140 km (60 mi) from Garies in the south to Springbok in the north and forms a plateau between the Sandveld of the Cape West Coast and Bushmanland in the east, with the Hardveld of the mountainous central Kamiesberg escarpment in the midst.
Psammobates is a genus of tortoise erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1835. This genus contains three species, all of which are indigenous to southern Africa.
The tent tortoise is a species of tortoise and one of three members of the genus, Psammobates. Known locally as the Karoo tent tortoise, this highly variable species is found in South Africa and Namibia.
Trimenia macmasteri is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Africa, where it is found from Beaufort West to the Roggeveld escarpment in the Western Cape.
Steinkopf is a town in Namakwa District Municipality in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
Bushmanland may refer to:
The Bundu Farm site is a kidney shape depression of land located in the Bushmanland region of Northern Cape, South Africa. The excavations at this site during 1998-2003 had unearthed a sequence of archaeological remains including Earlier, Middle and Later Stone Age assemblages and preserved fauna. These discoveries give an insight into the occupation of the Bushmanland prehistoric people and possible connection of cultures and traditions between the central interior and the West coast of South Africa.
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