Port St. Johns

Province

Port St. Johns ( also Port St Johns or Umzimvubu ) is a town in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. It lies on the Indian Ocean and was the only port city of the 1994 resolution, formally independent homelands Transkei. The name origin is unclear.

Geography, climate and geology

Port St Johns is located on the Wild Coast, a 270 kilometer long, sparsely populated stretch of coast. The city is located at the mouth of Mzimvubu in the Indian Ocean. Above Port St. Johns located on either side of the river the sandstone mountains Mount Thesiger (342 meters above sea level) and Mount Sullivan (304 meters ), which were named after two British officers.

The place is located in the district O.R. Tambo and in the community of Port St. Johns, whose headquarters he is. 2011 had 6,441 inhabitants Port St. Johns.

The climate is subtropical.

Near the town there is a small, but important Travertinlagerstätte South Africa. About 10 kilometers west of Port St Johns, the rock for architectural applications was recovered.

History

Port St Johns was founded in 1845 by the Pondokönig Faku and his son Ndamase. 1878 Port St Johns was part of the Cape Colony. Thesiger and Sullivan hoisted on this occasion the British flag in Port St. Johns. 1884, the area was officially annexed. With the establishment of the autonomous region as part of the Transkei homeland policy, the city was an exclave of the Cape Province. With the formation of the formally independent state Transkei Port St. Johns in 1976 was part of this area. In 1994, the city came as the entire Transkei to the Eastern Cape Province.

Economy and Transport

Port St Johns is of particular importance as a center of tourism on the Wild Coast. It is a popular holiday destination for dropouts. Near the town there are three beaches.

From Mthatha and Kokstad in the west to the north leads to the R61 just before Port St. Johns. From there, the road is to the city is also well developed. Along the coast are no roads. Port St Johns has an airfield.

The Pondoland Park is a planned 500 km ² national park, which is to extend from the Umzimvubumündung northward to the border of the province of KwaZulu -Natal.

Flora and Fauna

Port St Johns is surrounded thanks to the subtropical, humid climate of evergreen rain forests.