Port St. Johns
| Port St. Johns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 31 ° 37 ′ S , 29 ° 33 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| Eastern Cape | |||
| District | OR Tambo | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-EC | ||
| local community | Port St. Johns | ||
| Residents | 6441 (2011) | ||
| founding | 1845 | ||
| Website | www.portstjohns.org.za (English) | ||
 View of the place from Mount Thesiger
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Port St. Johns (also Port St Johns or Umzimvubu ) is a town in the province of Eastern Cape in South Africa . It lies on the Indian Ocean and was the only port city of the 1994 formally independent homeland of Transkei . The origin of the name is unclear.
Geography, climate and geology
Port St. Johns is located on the Wild Coast , an approximately 270 kilometers long, sparsely populated stretch of coast of the Indian Ocean. The city is located at the mouth of the Mzimvubu into the sea. Above Port St. Johns, on both sides of the river, are the sandstone mountains Mount Thesiger (342 meters above sea level) and Mount Sullivan (304 meters), named after two British officers, including Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford .
The place is in the district of OR Tambo and in the municipality of Port St. Johns , whose administrative seat it is. In 2011 Port St. Johns had 6,441 residents.
The climate is subtropical .
In the vicinity of the place there is a small, but the most important travertine deposit in South Africa. The rock was extracted for architectural applications about 10 kilometers west of Port St. Johns.
history
Port St. Johns was founded in 1845 by the Pondo King Faku and his son Ndamase. In 1878 Port St. Johns became part of the Cape Colony . Thesiger and Sullivan hoisted the British flag in Port St. Johns on the occasion. In 1884 the area was officially annexed . In 1885 the German officer Emil Nagel requested protection from the German Reich for a land concession on the opposite side of the Mzimvubu estuary , but this did not materialize. With the establishment of the autonomous region of Transkei as part of the homeland policy, the city became an exclave of the Cape Province . With the formation of the formally independent state of Transkei in 1976, Port St. Johns became part of this area. In 1994, like all of Transkei, the city came to the Eastern Cape Province.
The origin of the place name is unclear. One assumption is based on a Portuguese ship named São João that was stranded in 1552 . Another explanation relates to a group of rocks east of the Umzimvubu, which is said to have reminded former sailors of the evangelist John .
Economy and Transport
Port St. Johns is particularly important as a center of tourism on the Wild Coast. It is considered a popular vacation spot for dropouts . There are three beaches near the city.
The R61 runs from Mthatha in the west and Kokstad in the north to just before Port St. Johns. From there the road to the city is also well developed. There are no roads along the coast. Port St. Johns has an airfield.
The Pondoland Park is a planned 500 km² national park, which is to extend from the mouth of the Mzimvubu north to the border of the province of KwaZulu-Natal .
Flora and fauna
Port St. Johns is surrounded by evergreen rainforests thanks to the subtropical, humid climate .
Web links
- Official website (English)
- History Port St. Johns' (English)
- Historical photos
- Map of Port St. Johns and the surrounding area
Individual evidence
- ↑ City map , accessed on October 5, 2012
- ↑ 2011 census , accessed December 30, 2013
- ^ Travertines - Port St Johns, Eastern Cape. on www.geoscience.org.za (English)
- ^ Peter Turner, Norio De Sousa, Marc Pienaar: Port St John's History . on www.portstjohns.org.za (English)
- ↑ Information on the planned national park ( Memento of the original from September 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed February 17, 2010
