Knysna River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | South Africa |
Physical characteristics | |
Length | 40 km (25 mi) |
The Knysna River (in Afrikaans : Knysnarivier) is a river flowing in the Western Cape province in South Africa. It has its source in the Outeniqua Mountains, in the district of Eden, then it goes towards the Indian Ocean, in which it opens with a large estuary, where is located the town of Knysna, which takes its name from the river. Its course, 40 km long, is navigable only in its final part.
The mouth of the river is called The Heads.
The name Knysna has appeared in various spellings since around the 1770s. [1] It was referred as 'Nysna' in one of the first letters of James Callander, a Scottish seamaster, sent by the colonial government of the Cape in 1798 to survey and report on the forests, bays and rivers of the region. He builds for himself a house at The Heads. He draws the first map of the Knysna River "Chart of the Knysna, An Arm of the Sea, Seven Leagues to the Westward of Plettenberg's Bay" and expresses his opinion that the Knysna is far superior to Plettenberg Bay as an outlet for the shipment of timber. [2]
Plettenberg Bay, nicknamed Plett, is the primary town of the Bitou Local Municipality in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. According to the census of 2001, the town had a population of 29,149. It was originally named Bahia Formosa by early Portuguese explorers and lies on South Africa's Garden Route 210 km from Port Elizabeth and about 600 km from Cape Town.
Knysna is a town with 76,150 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It is situated 60 kilometres east of the city of George on the N2 highway, and 33 kilometres west of the Plettenberg Bay on the same road.
The Garden Route is a 300-kilometre (190 mi) stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa which extends from Witsand in the Western Cape to the border of Tsitsikamma Storms River in the Eastern Cape. The name comes from the verdant and ecologically diverse vegetation encountered here and the numerous estuaries and lakes dotted along the coast. It includes towns such as Witsand, Heidelberg, Riversdale, Stilbaai, Albertinia, Gouritsmond, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Mossel Bay, Oudtshoorn, Great Brak River, Little Brak River, Wilderness, Sedgefield and Nature's Valley; with George, the Garden Route's largest city and main administrative centre.
Bitou Municipality, formerly known as Plettenberg Bay Municipality, is a local municipality within the Garden Route District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its municipality code is WC047.
Keurboomstrand is a resort town near Plettenberg Bay on the Western Cape of South Africa. It takes its name from the indigenous keurboom tree which grows in the region. The Keurbooms River runs nearby.
The Knysna–Amatole montane forests ecoregion, of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, is in South Africa. It covers an Afromontane area of 3,100 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi) in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces.
The Tsitsikamma National Park is a protected area on the Garden Route, Western Cape and Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is a coastal reserve well known for its indigenous forests, dramatic coastline, and the Otter Trail. On 6 March 2009 it was amalgamated with the Wilderness National Park and various other areas of land to form the Garden Route National Park.
Nature's Valley is a holiday resort and small village on the Garden Route along the southern Cape coast of South Africa. Nature's Valley lies between the Salt River, the foothills of the Tsitsikamma Mountains, the Indian Ocean and the Groot River lagoon. Nature's Valley has a balmy climate and is surrounded by the de Vasselot Nature Reserve which is part of the Tsitsikamma Park, and in turn part of the Garden Route National Park.
George Rex was a British-born entrepreneur who spent most of his adult life in the Cape Colony. He founded the town of Knysna, Cape Colony and played a key role in its development. Rex filled a number of positions in the Cape Colony – including Marshal of the Vice-admiralty Court, notary public to the Governor and advocate for the Crown – before settling on the farm Melkhoutkraal, in the Knysna district. George Rex was the alleged first son of King George III.
The Knysna seahorse or Cape seahorse is a species of fish in the family Syngnathidae. It is endemic to the south coast of South Africa, where it has been found in only three brackish water habitats: the estuary of the Keurbooms River in Plettenberg Bay, the Knysna Lagoon, and the estuarine portion of the Swartvlei system in Sedgefield. The limited range of this seahorse puts it at great risk of extinction.
Birds of Eden is the world's largest free flight aviary and bird sanctuary, located in Kurland village near Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape, South Africa. The mesh dome of the sanctuary was built over 2.3 hectares of indigenous forest, and is up to 55 metres (180 ft) above ground level. 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) of walkways, about 75% of which are elevated, let visitors see the birds at all levels of the aviary.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is a voluntary non-profit organisation in South Africa tasked with saving lives through drowning prevention. It operates 49 bases comprising coastal stations, inland stations on dams, auxiliary stations and lifeguard units. There are crews on standby at all hours. There are over 1000 volunteers equipped with sponsored rescue craft, rescue vehicles, quad bikes and tractors, supported by an operations department at the head office.
Formosa Peak or Peak Formosa is the highest point of the Tsitsikamma Mountains, a coastal range located along the Garden Route in South Africa, and forming part of the Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve.
Henry Frederick Francis Adair Barrington, was a Cape Colony lawyer, farmer and member of Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope.
Johannes Ludwig Leopold Mund (1791-1831) and Louis Maire were natural history collectors who worked in the Cape Colony under the sponsorship of the Berlin Museum of Natural History. Museum specimens they collected were always labeled under the names, "Mund & Maire".
Middleton is a hamlet in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality of the Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Middleton is situated on the banks of the Fish River off the N10 road and is about 30 km south of Cookhouse.
This article deals with forest conservation in South Africa.
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