Namaqualand

Provinces: Northern Cape, Western Cape

Namaqualand occupies an area of some 48,000sq.km/18,530sq.mi in the northwest of South Africa, extending from Vanrhynsdorp in the south to the Orange River (here forming the frontier with Namibia) in the north and reaching westward to Pofadder. The southern part of this semi-desertic region is generally flat, the northern part hilly. Rainfall is low throughout Namaqualand - in the coastal areas, washed by the cold Benguela Current, as little as 50mm/2in. annually, and only slightly higher, at up to 200mm/8in., to the east of N 7, which runs through the region from north to south. The low rainfall nourishes only a sparse covering of vegetation, and in summer the intense heat burns up every trace of green. Visitors traveling through Namaqualand in summer cannot imagine the splendor of blossom that erupts after the winter rains. Between August and October the barren landscape can suddenly be carpeted with flowers. Among the commonest flowers are various species of mesembryanthemum and Compositae (including the Namaqualand daisy). The finest show of blossom is round Springbok, but there are also magnificent displays at various points along N 7. It is not possible to predict exactly when or where the wild flower season will reach its peak, since this depends on the rainfall and climatic conditions, which differ from year to year.

When the first whites settled in Namaqualand in the mid 19th C they came in contact with Bushmen, who were already working the copper ore in the region. The first copper-mine was opened by the new arrivals near Springbok about 1852. The main copper-mining centers are now Okiep and Nababeeb. Namaqualand is also an important diamond-mining area, the first diamonds having been found in 1926 between Port Nolloth and the mouth of the Orange River in Alexander Bay. Diamonds were also found off the coast, and there are now ''diamond divers'' who, working from boats, suck up the diamond-bearing gravel from the sea floor in pipes. This section of the coast, between Kleinsee and Oranjemund, is a restricted area in which the roads are closed to normal traffic.

Other sources of income in this thinly populated region are fishing and sheep-farming.