Yzerfontein, or Ysterfontein, is a small harbour town with about 1200 inhabitants on the west coast of

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 ...

about 90 km north of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. The name in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

means "Iron Fountain".The town started out when the farm 'Yzerfontein' was bought by th
Katz-family
in the 1930s. Then they started dividing the farm into plots. The main sources of income are tourism (especially during the wildflower season from August to October), mining and fishing. Yzerfontein is known for its Sixteen Mile Beach, stretching north from the main beach of the town, to the

West Coast National Park The West Coast National Park lies north of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The park is found inside of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve, part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. It is bordered by the Atl ...

, which borders the town.

Dassen Island Dassen Island is an uninhabited South African island in the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated about west of Yzerfontein and north of Cape Town. The flat and low-lying island measures about long northwest–southeast and wide, with an area of . ...

, another nature reserve, is about 10 km offshore. Yzerfontein is the landing point for the

ACE An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

and WACS

submarine communications cable A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the seabed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables were laid beginning in the 1850s and car ...

s. Outside of the town is the

Darling Wind Farm Darling Wind Farm was one of the first three wind farms in South Africa. It is located 70 km (43 mi) north of Cape Town, between Darling and Yzerfontein on the west coast of South Africa. Darling Wind Power was incorporated in 2004 as t ...

. This is producing power and there are plans for expansion. The Yzerfontein salt pan is a coastal salt pan, just northeast of the town. It was formerly mined for salt, and is currently mined for

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

. These days Yzerfontein is more modern. It has a new

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

, coffee shop, pharmacy and many restaurants. Its harbour is busy when it is kreef season or snoek season.

References

External links

Information site for Yzerfontein
{{Authority control Populated places in the Swartland Local Municipality Populated places established in 1937