Yzerfontein, or Ysterfontein, is a small harbour town with about 1200 inhabitants on the west coast of
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 ...
about 90 km north 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 ...
. The name in
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 ...
means "Iron Fountain".The town started out when the farm 'Yzerfontein' was bought by th
Katz-familyin the 1930s. Then they started dividing the farm into plots. The main sources of income are tourism (especially during the wildflower season from August to October), mining and fishing.
Yzerfontein is known for its Sixteen Mile Beach, stretching north from the main beach of the town, to the
West Coast National Park
The West Coast National Park lies north of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The park is found inside of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve, part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. It is bordered by the At ...
, which borders the town.
Dassen Island
Dassen Island is an uninhabited South African island in the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated about west of Yzerfontein and north of Cape Town. The flat and low-lying island measures about long northwest-southeast and wide, with an area of . It i ...
, another nature reserve, is about 10 km offshore.
Yzerfontein is the landing point for the
ACE
An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...
and
WACS submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables laid beginning in the 1850s carried tel ...
s.
Outside of the town is the
Darling Wind Farm
Darling Wind Farm was one of the first three wind farms in South Africa. It is located 70 km (43 mi) north of Cape Town, between Darling and Yzerfontein on the west coast of South Africa. Darling Wind Power was incorporated in 2004 as t ...
. This is producing power and there are plans for expansion.
The Yzerfontein salt pan is a coastal
salt pan, just northeast of the town. It was formerly mined for salt, and is currently mined for
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...
.
These days Yzerfontein is more modern. It has a new
spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
, coffee shop, pharmacy and many restaurants. Its harbour is busy when it is kreef season or snoek season.
References
External links
Information site for Yzerfontein
{{Authority control
Populated places in the Swartland Local Municipality
Populated places established in 1937