This region is subject to winter rainfall. It constitutes the transition between the colder West Coast and the more temperate South Coast.
The northern section of the west coast is characterised by numerous pocket bays, headlands and offshore pinnacles, the largest of these embayment’s being Saldanha Bay.
False Bay is rocky along the western and eastern boundaries, while the northern boundary is characterised by sandy beaches.
At Cape Hangklip, the coastline swings to the south-east, initially being flanked by towering sandstone ridges. The irregular coastline is interrupted by long curvilinear sand beaches. The relief gradually diminishes towards Cape Agulhas, although the shoreline remains mainly rocky, interspersed with short sandy beaches.
Physical Features
Ecology
Vegetation
References:
Acknowledgement: Some information and photographic material on this page were obtained from a CD-Rom application developed by WAMTechnology cc during 1998 for the Lisbon ’98 Expo. The project was sponsored by the South African Communication Services in cooperation with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and the Department of Environment Affairs and Tourism. Numerous organizations and persons supplied material (Dr. Dirk van Driel, SATOER and the CSIR were major the contributors of photographic material).
- Eerste River Estuary
- Lourens River Estuary
- Rooiels Estuary
- Bot River Estuary