Barkly East

Province

Barkly East is a town in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. It is located in the municipality in the district Senqu Joe Gqabi whose headquarters it is.

Geography

Barkly East has about 9,986 inhabitants ( 2011 census ). The most common isiXhosa and Sesotho are spoken. The city is located south of Lesotho in the southern foothills of the Drakensberg and is one of the highest cities in South Africa. The Langkloofspruit, a tributary of the Kraai River, which in turn is a tributary of the Orange River flows through Barkly East.

Climate

The average rainfall is 567 mm, of which the most rainfall in summer to fall.

History

Barkly East was founded in 1873 and after the then governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Henry Barkly, named. To distinguish it from the city of Barkly West, who also belonged to the Cape Colony, it was called Barkly East.

Economy and Transport

Main source of income is sheep farming. In addition to winter sports in the area north of Barkly East operated, about the ski resort Tiffindell.

Barkly East is situated on the R58 between Lady Grey in the northwest and Elliot in the southeast as well as the R396, which leads across from Indwe in the vicinity of Mount Fletcher. Barkly East was terminus of the line Aliwal North Barkly East, which was shut down in 2001.