Eastern Cape
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| Capital | Bhisho | |||
| Largest city | Port Elizabeth | |||
| Premier | Nosimo Balindlela | |||
| Area - Total |
Ranked 2nd 169,580 km² |
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| Population - Total (2001) - Density |
Ranked 3rd 6,436,761 38/km² |
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| Languages | Xhosa (83%) Afrikaans (9.6%) English (3.7%) |
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| Ethnic composition | Black (87.6%) Coloured (7.4%) Caucasian (4.7%) Asian (0.3%) |
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The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, as well as the eastern portion of the Cape Province. It is the traditional home of the Xhosa, and the birthplace of many prominent South Africans, such as Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Steve Biko and Charles Coghlan.
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[edit] Geography
The Eastern Cape gets progressively wetter from west to east. The west is mostly semi-arid Karoo, except in the far south, which is temperate rainforest in the Tsitsikamma region. The coast is generally rugged with interspersed beaches. Most of the province is hilly to very mountainous between Graaff-Reinet and Rhodes including the Sneeuberge (Afrikaans: Snow Mountains), Stormberge, Winterberge and Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Dragon Mountains). The highest point in the province is Ben Macdhui at 3001m. The east from East London towards the Kwa-Zulu Natal border is lush grassland with intermittent forest. This region, Transkei, is rolling hills punctuated by deep gorges.
[edit] Climate
It is very diverse. The west is dry with scarse rain during winter of summer, with frosty winters and hot summers. The Tsitsikamma to Grahamstown receives more precipitation, which is also relatively evenly distributed and temperatures are mild. Further east, rainfall becomes more plentiful and humidity increases, becoming more subtropical along the coast with summer rainfall. The interior can become very cold in winter, with heavy snowfalls occurring at times in the mountainous regions between Molteno and Rhodes.
- Port Elizabeth: Jan Max: 25ºC, Min: 18ºC; Jul Max: 20ºC, Min: 9ºC
- Molteno & Barkly East: Jan Max 28ºC, Min 11ºC; Jul Max: 14ºC, Min: -7ºC
[edit] Tourism
The landscape is extremely diverse. The western interior is largely arid Karoo, while the east is well-watered and green. The Eastern Cape offers a wide array of attractions, including 800 km of untouched and pristine coastline along with some particularly splendid beaches, and "big-five" viewing in a malaria-free environment.
The Addo Elephant National Park, situated 73 km from Port Elizabeth, was proclaimed in 1931. Its 743 km² offers sanctuary to 170 elephants, the last Cape buffalo and 21 black rhino of the very scarce Kenyan sub-species.
The province is the location of South Africa's only ski resort, Tiffindell, which is situated in the Southern Drakensberg on the slopes of the highest mountain peak in the Eastern Cape (3001 m).
The National Arts Festival, held in Grahamstown is Africa's largest and most colourful cultural event, offering a choice of the very best of both indigenous and imported talent. Every year for 11 days the town's population almost doubles, as over 50,000 people flock to the region for a feast of arts, crafts and sheer entertainment.
The Tsitsikamma National Park is an 80 km long coastal strip between Nature's Valley and the mouth of the Storms River. In the park the visitor finds an almost untouched natural landscape. Near the park is the Bloukrans Bridge, which is the world's highest bungee jump.
Jeffreys Bay is an area with some of the country's wildest coastline, which is backed by some of Africa's most spectacular sub-tropical rainforest. Famous for its "supertubes", probably South Africa's longest and most consistently good wave, it's charged with a surf vibe as relaxed as it is friendly, and this tends to soften the effect of the wealthy set who have made this part of the coast their own.
Aliwal North, lying on a splendid agricultural plateau on the southern bank of the Orange River, is one of the country's most popular inland resorts and is famous for its hot springs.
The rugged and unspoilt Wild Coast is a place of spectacular scenery, and a graveyard for many vessels.
[edit] Economy
The Eastern Cape remains one of the poorest provinces in South Africa. This is largely due to the extreme poverty found in the former homelands, where subsistence agriculture predominates. The two major industrial centres, Port Elizabeth and East London have well-developed economies, based on the automotive industry. General Motors and Volkswagen both have major assembly lines in the Port Elizabeth area, while East London is dominated by the large DaimlerChrysler plant. The largest construction project in Africa is currently underway at Coega, about 20 km north of Port Elizabeth, where a new harbour is being built. It is expected that this development will give the province a major economic boost.
[edit] Formation
The Eastern Cape as a South African Province came into being in 1994 and incorporated areas from the former homelands of the Transkei and Ciskei as well as what was then the Cape Province. This resulted in several anomalies including the fact that the Province has four superior courts (at Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Bhisho and Umtata) and enclaves of Kwa-Zulu Natal in the province. The later anomaly has fallen away with the amendments to municipal and provincial boundaries.
[edit] Municipalities
The Eastern Cape Province is divided into 46 municipalities:
- Aberdeen Plain Municipality
- Alfred Nzo Municipality
- Amahlathi Municipality
- Amatole Municipality
- Baviaans Municipality
- Blue Crane Route Municipality
- Buffalo City Municipality (East London, Mdantsane and King William's Town)
- Cacadu Municipality
- Camdeboo Municipality
- Chris Hani Municipality
- Elundini Municipality
- Emalahleni Municipality
- Ngcobo Municipality
- Gariep Municipality
- Great Kei Municipality
- Ikwezi Municipality
- Inkwanca Municipality
- Intsika Yethu Municipality
- Inxuba Yethemba Municipality
- King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality
- Kouga Municipality
- Kou-Kamma Municipality
- Lukanji Municipality
- Makana Municipality
- Maletswai Municipality
- Mbhashe Municipality
- Mbizana Municipality
- Mhlontlo Municipality
- Mnquma Municipality
- Ndlambe Municipality Municipality
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage & Despatch)
- Ngqushwa Municipality
- Nkonkobe Municipality
- Ntabankulu Municipality
- Nxuba Municipality
- Nyandeni Municipality
- O.R. Tambo Municipality
- Port St. Johns Municipality
- Quakeni Municipality
- Sakhisizwe Municipality
- Senqu Municipality
- Sunday's River Valley
- Tsolwana Municipality
- Ukhahlamba Municipality
- Umzimkhulu Municipality
- Umzimvubu Municipality
Eastern Cape • Free State • Gauteng • KwaZulu-Natal • Limpopo • Mpumalanga • Northern Cape • North West • Western Cape
[edit] External links
- Eastern Cape National Government information
- Eastern Cape Provincial Government
- Eastern Cape Tourism Board
- Eastern Cape Development Corporation
- The Eastern Cape
- East London Local Community Website
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