Kamieskroon is a small town in the

Kamiesberg Local Municipality Kamiesberg Municipality () is a local municipality within the Namakwa District Municipality, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Population According to the 2022 South African census, the municipality had a population of 15,130 people. ...

, lying in the foothills of the

Kamiesberge The Kamiesberg or Kamiesberge is a mountain range of jumbled granite inselbergs or bornhardts dotted over sandy plains and centered on Kamieskroon in Namaqualand in South Africa. This range is very like the Matopos of Zimbabwe in appearance. It ...

at an elevation of approximately 800 m (2 600 ft). The town is more or less in the centre of

Namaqualand Namaqualand ( Khoikhoi: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoi people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River int ...

, about 70 km (43 mi) to the south of

Springbok, Northern Cape Springbok is the largest town in the Namaqualand area in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It was called Springbokfontein until 1911, when it was shortened to Springbok. Springbok is located on the N7 national route which connects the ...

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 ...

. It is known mainly for its abundance of wild flowers during spring. Kamieskroon was founded in 1924, when the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

bought the land to relocate from Bowesdorp, 8 km to the north of the current location of the town. The move was forced by a shortage of water and restricted space for the growth of the town. Kamieskroon is located at the foot of the "Kroon" (Afrikaans, meaning Crown), a small koppie that resembles the crown of a king and is near Sneeukop, the second highest peak in Namaqualand. Also located close to Kamieskroon is Boesmankop, a mountain that resembles a Boesman (

Bushman The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are the members of any of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the oldest surviving cultures of the region. They are thought to have diverged from other humans 100,000 to 200 ...

or San) lying on his back. Between 1969 and 2003 it was a military base housing two Armoured Squadrons equipped with Ratel-90 and four Companies of SA 9th Light Infantry Regiment.

Namaqua National Park Namaqua National Park is a South African national park situated on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Namaqualand (an area covering 440,000 km2 located within the semi-desert Succulent Karoo biome).Van Deventer, M. and J.A.J. ...

is located 20 km west of Kamieskroon. It is 1,000 km² in area and its principal purpose is to preserve the natural local flora. Since 2002 native wild animals have been re-introduced to the Park. (They had been shot out at least a century before).

Springbok The springbok or springbuck (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first Species description, described by the Germa ...

Hartebeest The hartebeest (; ''Alcelaphus buselaphus''), also known as kongoni or kaama, is an Fauna of Africa, African antelope. It is the Monotypic taxon, only member of the genus ''Alcelaphus''. Eight subspecies have been described, including two som ...

and

Oryx ''Oryx'' ( ) is a genus consisting of four large antelope species called oryxes. Their pelage is pale with contrasting dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight and annulated. The exception is the sci ...

(Gemsbok) now roam there again. The climate is arid but temperatures are moderated somewhat by the elevation. Daytime temperatures commonly reach thirty-five degrees Celsius (95 °F) in summer while some frost may be experienced during clear winter nights.

References

Populated places in the Kamiesberg Local Municipality Populated places established in 1924 1924 establishments in South Africa {{NorthernCape-geo-stub