Buffelspoort is the westernmost of five defiles that cut through the Swartberg Mountain range, situated in the

Western Cape 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 ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The others are the Seweweekspoort, Die Poort, where the

Gamka River Gamka River ( af, Gamkarivier) is a river located in the Western Cape, South Africa. The name '' means 'Lion' and was probably named so by the San people (Bushmen). The river originates north of Beaufort West, generally flowing southwest towards ...

transects Die Hel,

Meiringspoort Meiringspoort (Afrikaans for "Meiring's pass") is a South African mountain pass on the N12 national road, where it crosses the Swartberg mountain range. Geography The pass is a gateway that connects the Little Karoo and the Great Karoo, throug ...

, and Snykloof at its eastern extremity. The deep gorge and river valley is located some 10 km from the western limit of the Swartberg range, in the section known as the Klein Swartberge. After exiting Floriskraal Dam, the Buffels River enters the Swartberg's foothills or Wit Nekke, before it enters Buffelspoort from the north. The 9 km long gorge connects the northern foothills of the Swartberg with the

Little Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hard veld") is a semi- desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ...

in the south, where the Buffels River exits the defile. Downstream from this point the Buffels is known as the Groot River. The vegetation of this remote and untouched gorge is predominantly the arid, succulent-rich ''Gamka Thicket'' vegetation, and includes many endemics, such as '' Astroloba cremnophila''.E. van Jaarsveld: ''Astroloba cremnophila'' a new cliff dwelling succulent from the Klein Karoo (Western Cape, South Africa). ''Bradleya'' 33/2015, January 2015. The defile is not to be confused with the

Buffelspoort Dam Buffelspoort Dam is an arch type dam in the Sterkstroom River, a tributary of the Crocodile River (West), North West Province, South Africa. Its main purpose is for irrigation use and it is owned by the Department of Water Affairs. It is locat ...

, an unrelated land-form situated far to the north in

North West Province North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana. History North West was incorporated after the end of Apartheid in 1994, an ...

, South Africa.

References

{{coord, 33, 25, 35, S, 20, 57, 45, E, type:landmark_region:ZA, display=title Landforms of the Western Cape Valleys of South Africa