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Lourens River Protected Natural Environment
Lourens River Protected Natural Environment is a section of protected land along the Lourens River in the Helderberg region, South Africa. The Lourens River is about long, flowing from the Hottentots Holland Mountains into False Bay at Strand. Its upper reaches are relatively undisturbed and are privately owned. However, the lower part of the river flows through developed areas as well as past fynbos and plantations of invasive alien trees. This natural area is threatened by pollution as well as by invasive alien weeds such as Kikuyu grass and the Black Wattle tree. The Dick Dent Bird Sanctuary is contained within the protected area. Beside the protected area is the Vergelegen Nature Reserve. West of the protected environment is the Helderberg Nature Reserve Helderberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Somerset West, South Africa. This nature reserve is located on the southern slopes of the Helderberg mountains. Its 398 ha consist mostly of “Kogelberg Sandstone F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somerset West
Somerset West ( af, Somerset-Wes) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality as a suburb of the Helderberg region (formerly called Hottentots Holland). The vehicle registration code for Somerset West is ''CFM'' and the post code is 7130 for street addresses, and 7129 for post office boxes. History A cattle post was established here by Dutch soldiers in 1672. A town developed around the Lourens River (originally "Tweederivier", which means "Second River"; "Eersterivier", meaning "First River" passes through Stellenbosch, some to the north) and the farm of Vergelegen (Dutch: "remotely situated"), an 18th-century farmhouse built in the historic Cape Dutch style by Willem Adriaan van der Stel, governor of the Cape and son of Simon van der Stel, who gave his name to the nearby town of Stellenbosch. Willem Adriaan was later sent back to Holland after being charged with corru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kikuyu Grass
The tropical Poaceae, grass species ''Cenchrus clandestinus'' (previously Pennisetum clandestinum) is known by several common names, most often kikuyu grass, as it is native to the highland regions of East Africa that is home to the Kikuyu people. Because of its rapid growth and aggressive nature, it is categorised as a noxious weed in some regions. However, it is also a popular garden lawn species in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the southern region of California in the United States, as it is inexpensive and moderately drought-tolerant. In addition, it is useful as pasture for livestock grazing and serves as a food source for many avian species, including the long-tailed widowbird. The flowering Culm (botany), culms are very short and "hidden" amongst the leaves, giving this species its specific epithet (''clandestinus''). Description and habitat ''Cenchrus clandestinus'' is a rhizomatous grass with matted roots and a grass-like or herbaceous habit. The leaves a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Nature Reserves In Cape Town
The City of Cape Town, South Africa has numerous nature reserves within the city limits. City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town manages the following nature reserves in the Cape Town metropolitan area: Temp North region * * * * * * * South region * * * * * * * * * * * * Central region * * * * East region * * * * * * * * CapeNature CapeNature, the Western Cape provincial conservation authority, manages Driftsands Nature Reserve on the Cape Flats, and the eastern part of the Kogelberg Nature Reserve. A small area of the Hottentots-Holland Nature Reserve also falls within the city limits of Cape Town. South African National Parks (SANParks) South African National Parks (SANParks) manages the following nature reserve in Cape Town: * Table Mountain National Park Eskom Eskom manages the following nature reserve in Cape Town: * Koeberg Nature Reserve University of the Western Cape (UWC) The University of the Western Cape (UWC) mana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biodiversity Of Cape Town
The Biodiversity of Cape Town is the variety and variability of life within the geographical extent of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, excluding the Prince Edward Islands. The terrestrial vegetation is particularly diverse and much of it is endemic to the city and its vicinity. Terrestrial and freshwater animal life is heavily impacted by urban development and habitat degradation. Marine life of the waters immediately adjacent to the city along the Cape Peninsula and in False Bay is also diverse, and while also impacted by human activity, the habitats are relatively intact. Floristic region (phytochorion) The City of Cape Town lies within the Cape Floristic Kingdom, by far the smallest and most diverse of the earth's six floristic kingdoms, an area of extraordinarily high diversity and endemism, and home to over 9,000 vascular plant species, of which 69 percent are endemic. Much of this diversity is associated with the fynbos biome, a Mediterranean-type, fire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helderberg Nature Reserve
Helderberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Somerset West, South Africa. This nature reserve is located on the southern slopes of the Helderberg mountains. Its 398 ha consist mostly of “Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos” (a highly species-rich vegetation type) with smaller patches of “Boland Granite Fynbos” and “Southern Afrotemperate Forest”. Altogether about 600 species of plant have been recorded here, including a wide range of Proteaceae, proteas. Particularly prominent plants include the Leucospermum, pincushion proteas (''Leucospermum'' sp.), cone bushes (''Leucadendron'' sp.), Protea, sugar bushes (''Protea'' sp.), Ericaceae, heaths (''Ericaceae, Erica'' sp.) and the waboom tree (''Protea nitida''). Animals that can be found here include the Cape leopard, caracal, grey duiker, Cape grysbok, steenbok, mongoose, Chersina angulata, angulate and Homopus, padloper tortoises and over 170 species of bird. The reserve has a picnic area, gift shop, Environmental Educatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vergelegen Nature Reserve
Vergelegen (Dutch: "remotely situated") is a historic wine estate in Somerset West, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Foundation The estate was settled in 1700 by an early Governor of the Cape, Willem Adriaan van der Stel. Van der Stel used the resources of his employer, the Dutch East India Company, to improve the estate, and in 1706 a number of free burghers at the Cape drew up a formal memorandum complaining about van der Stel's illegal activities. This memorandum contains some of the earliest images and descriptions of the estate. As a consequence of the free burghers' complaints, van der Stel and other officials were sacked, and three-quarters of the original Vergelegen estate was sold off, drastically reducing the size of the property. Vineyards In 1798 the estate was sold to the Theunissen family, who planted extensive vineyards and concentrated on the production of grapes until an infestation by the phylloxera louse in the late nineteenth century wiped out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Dent Bird Sanctuary
Dick Dent Bird Sanctuary is a reserve in Strand, South Africa. This isolated bird sanctuary is located near the estuary of the ''Lourens River''. It used to be the site of a waste water treatment works but is now protected within the Lourens River Protected Natural Environment. It is managed by the nearby Helderberg Nature Reserve Helderberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Somerset West, South Africa. This nature reserve is located on the southern slopes of the Helderberg mountains. Its 398 ha consist mostly of “Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos” (a highly species-rich ... with help from the ''Somerset West Bird Club'', and it is now a habitat for a great many water birds. See also * Biodiversity of Cape Town * List of nature reserves in Cape Town * Cape Lowland Freshwater Wetland References {{Cape Town, natural Nature reserves in Cape Town Protected areas of the Western Cape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Wattle
Black wattle is the common name for a number of species of trees that are native to Australia, as listed below: *''Acacia aulacocarpa'' *'' Acacia auriculiformis'', also known as Darwin Black Wattle or northern black wattle; *'' Acacia concurrens'' *''Acacia crassicarpa'' *''Acacia decurrens'', also known as Early Black Wattle *''Acacia hakeoides'', also known as Western Black Battle *''Acacia implexa'' *''Acacia leiocalyx'', also known as Early-flowering Black Wattle *''Acacia mabellae'' *''Acacia mangium'' *''Acacia mearnsii'', also known as Late Black Wattle and the species of tree that is known to be, commercially, the most important tannin producer in Southern Africa *'' Acacia melanoxylon'', a 'timber' tree that is commonly known as Australian Blackwood *''Acacia neriifolia'' *''Acacia plectocarpa'' *''Acacia salicina'' *''Acacia stenophylla'' It may also refer to ''Callicoma serratifolia ''Callicoma'' is a plant genus that contains just one species, ''Callicoma serr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fynbos
Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) 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 of about 80% (8,500 fynbos) 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. Overview and history The word fynbos is often confusingly said to mean "fine bush" in Afrikaans, as "bos" means "bush". Typical fynbos foliage is ericoid rather than fine. The term, in its pre-Afrikaans, Dutch form, ''fynbosch'', was recorded by Nob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Cape
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 , 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. Geography The Western Cape Province is roughly L-shaped, extending north and east from the Cape of Good Hope, in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It stretches about northwards along the Atlantic coast and about eastwards along the South African south coast (Southern Indian Ocean). It is bordered on the north by the Northern Cape and on the east by the Eastern Cape. The total land area of the province is , about 10.6% of the country's total. It is roughly the size of England or the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strand (Cape Town)
Strand (Afrikaans for 'beach') is a seaside resort town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It forms part of the Helderberg region of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, situated on the north-eastern edge of False Bay and near the foot of the Helderberg Mountains. Its geographical position is between Somerset West and Gordon's Bay, and is about 50 km southeast of Cape Town City Bowl. Strand has a population of approximately 50,000. Strand's main attraction is the beach; 5 km of white sandy beach off False Bay. Strand is often referred to as ''The Strand'' (Afrikaans: ''Die Strand''), which is the old name of the town. The vehicle registration code for Strand is ''CEY'' and the post code for street addresses is 7140. History Strand was established as a holiday and fishing resort in 1714. Before being known as Strand, the settlement was known as Mostert's Bay. In 1970, during the Apartheid era, all black, coloured and Asian people were forcefully removed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
False Bay
False Bay (Afrikaans ''Valsbaai'') is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa. The mouth of the bay faces south and is demarcated by Cape Point to the west and Cape Hangklip to the east. The north side of the bay is the low-lying Cape Flats, and the east side is the foot of the Hottentots Holland Mountains to Cape Hangklip which is at nearly the same latitude as Cape Point. In plan the bay is approximately square, being roughly the same extent from north to south as east to west, with the southern side open to the ocean. The seabed slopes gradually down from north to south, and is mostly fairly flat unconsolidated sediments. Much of the bay is off the coast of the City of Cape Town, and it includes part of the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area and the whole of the Helderberg Marine Protected Area. The name "False Bay" was applied at least three hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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