![Western Cape Topology](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Western_Cape_Topology.jpg)
The Boland (
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
for "top country" or "land above") is a region of the
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 ...
province of South Africa, situated to the northeast of
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
in the middle and upper courses of the
Berg Berg may refer to:
People
*Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor
* Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer
Former states
*Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...
and
Breede River
The Breede River ( af, Breederivier), also known as Breë River, is a river in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Travelling inland north from the city of Cape Town, the river runs in a west to east direction. The surrounding western mou ...
s, around the Boland Mountains of the central
Cape Fold Belt
The Cape Fold Belt is a fold and thrust belt of late Paleozoic age, which affected the sequence of sedimentary rock layers of the Cape Supergroup in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It was originally continuous with the Ventana Mount ...
. It is sometimes also referred to as the Cape Winelands because it is the primary region for the making of
Western Cape wine
Western Cape is a Geographical Unit within the Wine of Origin classification system of South African wine. Corresponding to the province of Western Cape it includes most of the vineyards in South Africa.
Style
The wines of the Western Cape ran ...
.
Geography
Although the Boland does not have defined boundaries, its core lies around the Boland Mountains and the towns of
,
Paarl
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...
and
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
. It may be understood to extend as far as
Malmesbury
Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...
,
Tulbagh
Tulbagh, named after Dutch Cape Colony Governor Ryk Tulbagh, is a town located in the "Land van Waveren" mountain basin (also known as the Tulbagh basin), in the Winelands of the Western Cape, South Africa. The basin is fringed on three side ...
,
Swellendam
Swellendam is the fifth oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, and Paarl), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them b ...
and
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 Hottent ...
. This is approximately the area included in the
Cape Winelands District Municipality
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 to ...
, which was formerly called the Boland District Municipality. To the southwest lies the Cape Town metropolitan area, to the northwest the
Swartland
The Swartland is a region of Western Cape Province that begins some north of Cape Town and consists of the area between the towns of Malmesbury in the south, Darling in the west, Piketberg in the north, Moorreesburg in the middle and the Riebee ...
and
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
, to the northeast the
Great Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi- desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ex ...
, to the east the
Little Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...
, and to the south the
Overberg
__NOTOC__
Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the e ...
.
The
catchment area
In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
of the Boland Mountains feeds the
Berg Berg may refer to:
People
*Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor
* Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer
Former states
*Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...
,
Breede and
Riviersonderend
Riviersonderend is a village in the Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa, about east of Cape Town. It is located on a loop of the Sonderend River, from which it takes its name. In the census of 2011 it was recorded as having a popula ...
rivers, and provides almost the entire water source for
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
.
Popular culture
The "Boland" name is given to a number of sports teams from the region, including the
Boland cricket team
The Boland is a first-class cricket team that nominally represents the Boland region, in the South African province of Western Cape, in the CSA Provincial Competitions. The team is selected and supported by the Boland Cricket Board (BCB) and plays ...
and the
Boland Cavaliers
The Boland Cavaliers (Boland Kavaliers in Afrikaans), are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They draw players from the Cape Winelands and West Coast districts of Western Cape Province, an ...
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
team.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Geography of the Western Cape