The Keurbooms River ( af, Keurboomsrivier) is a river in the
Western Cape Province
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 ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. The river has its sources south of
Uniondale in the
Langkloof
The Langkloof is a 160 km long valley in South Africa, lying between Herold, a small village northeast of George, and The Heights - just beyond Twee Riviere.
History
The kloof was given its name by Isaq Schrijver in 1689, and more thorough ...
and flows in a roughly southeastern direction. It passes
De Vlugt and the Prince Alfred Pass, flowing along the northern side of the R340 road then it turns south. After crossing the
N2 road This is a list of roads designated N2. Roads entries are sorted in alphabetical order by country.
* N2 (Bangladesh), connects Dhaka and Tamabil via Sylhet
* N2 road (Belgium), connects Brussels and Maastricht
* National Road 2 (Democratic Repub ...
, it flows into the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
through the
Keurbooms Estuary, located close to the coastal town of
Plettenberg Bay
Plettenberg Bay, nicknamed Plet or Plett, is the primary town of the Bitou Local Municipality in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of the census of 2001, there were 29,149 population. It was originally named Bahia Formosa ("beautifu ...
.
The Keurbooms River is approximately 85 km long with a catchment area of 1,080 km2. Its main tributary is the
Bitou (Bietou).
Ecology
The Keurbooms River marks the eastern limit of the area inhabited by the
Cape galaxias
The Cape galaxias (''Galaxias zebratus'') is a species of freshwater fish of the family Galaxiidae.
It is a small fish, rarely larger than 6 cm, that inhabits clear streams, rivers and ponds of South Africa. It shares the same habitat as i ...
''(Galaxias zebratus)'', a South African fish species
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the
Cape Floristic Region. It shares the same habitat as imported
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...
s and lives in an area between the Keurbooms and the
Olifants River. Although in South Africa this relatively delicate fish is only classified as
near threatened
A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...
, in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
species of the same genus were driven to
extinction
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
by competing
salmonid
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...
s.
Albany Museum – Freshwater Ichthyology
/ref>
See also
*Keurboomsrivier
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. It is commonly seen as a less busy alternat ...
(settlement)
* Keurboomstrand
* List of rivers of South Africa
This is a list of rivers in South Africa.
It is quite common to find the Afrikaans word ''-rivier'' as part of the name. Another common suffix is "''-kamma''", from the Khoisan term for "river"
Meiring, Barbara"South African Toponymic Guideline ...
*List of estuaries of South Africa
This is a list of estuaries in South Africa. The list is in order from East (border with Mozambique) to the West (border with Namibia).
The South African coastline stretches for some 3000 km from Kosi Bay near the Mozambique border in the ...
* Drainage basins of South Africa
References
External links
{{commons category
Keurbooms River Nature Reserve Complex Management Plan
A preliminary assessment of the impact of alien rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) on indigenous fishes of the upper Berg River, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Rivers of the Western Cape