Barkly East
Barkly-Oos | |
|---|---|
  Barkly East  Barkly East  Barkly East | |
| Coordinates: 30°58′05″S 27°35′36″E / 30.96806°S 27.59333°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Eastern Cape |
| District | Joe Gqabi |
| Municipality | Senqu |
| Established | 1873[1] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 16.80 km2 (6.49 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,790 m (5,870 ft) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
| • Total | 9,986 |
| • Density | 590/km2 (1,500/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 90.4% |
| • Coloured | 6.2% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.2% |
| • White | 2.9% |
| • Other | 0.3% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Xhosa | 74.6% |
| • Sotho | 11.7% |
| • Afrikaans | 8.6% |
| • English | 2.6% |
| • Other | 2.5% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 9786 |
| PO box | 9786 |
| Area code | 045-971- |
| Website | www.barklyeast.co.za |
Barkly East (Afrikaans: Barkly-Oos) is a town in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, seat of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, and 117 km by road E.S.E. of Aliwal North, lying in the mountainous area just south of Lesotho. The town lies at the southern tip of the Drakensberg on the Langkloofspruit, a tributary of the Kraai River which, in turn is a tributary of the Orange River at an elevation of 1 790 meter (5 873 foot) above sealevel. Barkly East is characterized by rugged mountains and green valleys. Snow falls in winter, and the hamlet of Rhodes is 60 km or an hour's drive from Barkly East on the R396. Both are within the boundaries of the Senqu Local Municipality.
It has been one of the few areas in South Africa where winter sports are pursued, and in summer fly fishing for Rainbow trout and indigenous Smallmouth yellowfish, trail running, mountain biking, rock paintings by the San people, tennis and the magnificent scenery draw tourists to the district.
Xhosa and Afrikaans are spoken by most of the inhabitants, while English and some Sotho are also spoken. The primary economic base of the district is sheep-farming.
- ^ "Chronological order of town establishment in South Africa based on Fritz van der Merwe (1960:20–26)" (PDF). pp. xlv–lii.
- ^ a b c d "Main Place Barkly East". Census 2011.