The Boosmansbos Wilderness Area of is situated north of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

in the eastern

Langeberg The Langeberg Range is a mountain range in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its highest peak is Keeromsberg at 2,072 m that lies 15 km northeast of the town of Worcester. Some of the highest peaks of the range are located just ...

mountain chain of the

Western Cape Province 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 inhabi ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. ''Boosmansbos'', i.e. 'angry man's forest', is named after a resident hermit of the early 19th century who had been known to scare youngsters who visited his apiaries. The elevation reaches at Grootberg peak, located at the centre of the wilderness area. The tributaries of the Duiwenhoks River, which drain its southern slopes, tumble along precipitous gorges to above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

on the southern perimeter. In the southwest the wilderness area encloses the Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve of , the most western natural forest in South Africa. The wilderness area conserves mountain

fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...

and valley forest. Among the special fynbos plants conserved are

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and everlasting species as well as the rare Langeberg rambling aloe. Important forest tree species occurring in the valleys are sickle-leaved yellowwood,

stinkwood Stinkwood, German ''Stinkholz'', French ''Bois Puant'', is the common name for a number of trees or shrubs which have wood or plant parts with an unpleasant odour, including: *'' Anagyris foetida''; Southern Europe *'' Bignonia callistegioides'' (c ...

and

red alder ''Alnus rubra'', the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana). Description ''Alnus rubra'' is the largest species of alder in ...

. The area receives rain in any month of the year, although mid summer and mid winter are the driest, when hot

bergwind Berg wind (from Afrikaans ''berg'' "mountain" + ''wind'' "wind", i.e. a mountain wind) is the South African English, South African name for a katabatic wind: a hot dry wind blowing down the Great Escarpment, Southern Africa, Great Escarpment fro ...

conditions may occur. of footpaths allow access to the wilderness, among which a circular section which can be completed in two days.

References

CapeNature, Boosmansbos
Provincial nature reserves of the Western Cape Wilderness areas {{Africa-protected-area-stub

See also

References