Tarkastad

Province

Tarkastad is a city in South Africa's Eastern Cape. It is the administrative center of the municipality in the district of Chris Hani Tsolwana.

Geography

Tarkastad has, together with the Township Zola, 6,059 inhabitants ( 2011 census ). Tarkastad located in the Great Karoo. The place is surrounded by up to 1,680 m high mountains. Among them is the two striking elevations of Martha and Mary.

The Tarka River ( Afrikaans: Tarkarivier ) flows through the town, and thence westward to the Great Fish River ( Groot Vis Rivier ). South of the town are the 2371 -meter-high until winter mountains.

History

Until the settlement by white settlers lived in the San region, which left numerous rock paintings. Towards the end of the 18th century, Boers settled. Tarkastad in 1862 the seat of a church community. The name is based possibly on the Khoikhoi word traka, " women "; stad is in Afrikaans for " city ". Two years later the city received the municipality status. About 24 kilometers north- west was in 1901 in the Second Boer War on a pass the " Battle of Elands River" place, in which, among others, died Lieutenant Sheridan, a cousin of the later British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Economy and Transport

By Tarkastad the regional roads lead R61 ( Cradock Queenstown ) in west-east direction and R344 of Sterkstroom in the north to Adelaide in the south. The R401 branches northwest from Tarkastad of the R61 and leads to Hofmeyr.