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73-501: With about 1600 plant species, it contains a floral diversity per unit area that is greater than anywhere else in the world. Located in the Kogelberg Mountains , along the mountainous coast on the eastern edge of Cape Town , this 3,000-hectare (7,400-acre) nature reserve protects a significant portion of Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos . Among the enormous range of plants in this local vegetation type are hundreds of species of Erica ,

146-582: A base for the Royal Navy ), and small fishing harbours at Kalk Bay and Gordon's Bay . The western side is bordered by the Cape Peninsula , and this stretch of coastline includes the smaller Buffels Bay , Smitswinkel Bay , Simon's Bay and Fish Hoek Bay . At Muizenberg the coastline becomes relatively low and sandy and curves east across the southern boundary of the Cape Flats to Gordon's Bay to form

219-509: A significant effect on surf zone and inshore water quality, but the effects of microbial processes on inshore water quality and the relative contribution of anthropogenic sources of nutrients remains unknown, but likely to be increasing. In pre-colonial times False Bay along with most of the Southern African coast provided sustenance to the Khoisan or Khoekhoen tribe who collected seafood from

292-482: A small catchment area in a nature reserve in the mountains of the southwest of the Overberg district. The nutrient contribution to False Bay surface waters by upwelling appears to be greater than that of terrestrial sources by runoff and groundwater seepage, but pollutants from terrestrial sources can be persistent and can have adverse effects on coastal ecosystems and recreational activities. Mixing with offshore water has

365-534: A south-westerly direction between the Helderberg and Schapenberg through Somerset West and Strand to a small estuary on the coast of False Bay. Its overall length is about 20 kilometres. The Soete River is a small river that may have originally been part of the Lourens River system, diverting floodwater through an alternative route to the bay. Sir Lowry's River drains the south side of Schapenberg and west side of

438-516: A wide range of Protea species and a great many plant families which are endemic . The Kogelberg mountains are known as the heart of the Fynbos , and have a floral diversity per unit area that is greater than anywhere else in the world. In addition to its unique mountain fynbos, other ecosystems include wetlands , as well as the riparian vegetation of the Palmiet River , which is the most untouched in

511-622: Is Mediterranean , however much milder than average, due to constant maritime winds blowing off the South Atlantic Ocean. Winters are wet to very wet and cool, with summers being dry, warm and windy. Snow occasionally occurs on the highest peaks. The area is protected within the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve and comprises a core area of 103 629ha of protected land. The highest mountain is Koeëlberg ( Afrikaans : Bullet Mountain ) rising to 1289m above Koeël Bay. The R44 route

584-718: Is a range of mountains along the False Bay coast in the Western Cape of South Africa . They form part of the Cape Fold Belt , starting south of the Elgin valley and forming a steep coastal range as far as Kleinmond . The Kogelberg area has the steepest and highest drop directly into the ocean of any southern African coastal stretch. The mountains are made predominantly of Table Mountain Sandstone and form some very rugged terrain, which

657-533: Is a scenic ocean drive that follows this section of coastline. Towns and villages in this region include: False Bay False Bay ( Afrikaans : Valsbaai ) is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa . The mouth of the bay faces south and is demarcated by Cape Point to

730-517: Is extremely rich in fynbos , the native Cape flora. The Elgin Valley's surrounding mountain ranges are considered the hub of the Cape floral kingdom . They contain more plant species than anywhere else in the floral region, and a large section of the mountain range is now protected in the massive Kogelberg Nature Reserve . The unique local vegetation type is classified as Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos . The climate

803-529: Is increased. The circulation patterns of False Bay are variable over time, with seasonal and longer term cycles. There are cold-water upwelling events associated with south-easterly winds in summer, and periodic intrusions of warm water eddies from the Agulhas Current of the south coast, both of which contribute to the biodiversity. Four main surface circulation patterns have been observed in False Bay. Wind

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876-418: Is known as Steenbras Deep. There is one true island in the bay, Seal Island, a barren and stony outcrop of granite about 200 m long and with an area of about 2 ha. It is about 6 km south of Strandfontein and is less than 10 m above sea level at its highest point. There are also a number of small rocky islets which extend above the high water mark, and other rocks and shoals which approach

949-661: Is mostly fairly flat unconsolidated sediments. Much of the bay is off the coast of the City of Cape Town , and it includes part of the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area and the whole of the Helderberg Marine Protected Area . The name "False Bay" was applied at least three hundred years ago by sailors returning from the east who confused Cape Point and Cape Hangklip, which are somewhat similar in profile when approached from

1022-517: Is named after a lieutenant Whittle of the Royal Navy, who surveyed parts of False Bay after HMS Indent was damaged off Miller's Point soon after the first British occupation of the Cape in 1795. Commercial fishing has been practiced in False Bay since the late 1600s. Over time a range of fishing methods have been prohibited in False Bay. Demersal trawling, purse seining and gillnetting were introduced in

1095-405: Is not linear. Water density dynamics are mostly temperature dependent, with only weak influences from salinity. The major influence on temperature distribution is wind driven upwelling and advection of cold water, which is most notable north-west of Hangklip, and less marked near Gordon's Bay, due to strong south-easterly winds, with insolation as a secondary effect, mostly in the shallow waters of

1168-482: Is the dominant forcing influence on surface circulation, with tidal and inertial currents of secondary importance, mainly when the winds are weak. Gordon's Bay is in the wind shadow of the Hottentots-Holland Mountains for south easterly winds, and this causes a semi-permanent anticyclonic eddy and associated anticlockwise gyre, in the opposite direction to the usual cyclonic circulation of the main part of

1241-562: Is the largest of eight estuaries on the False Bay coastline, with an area of about 155 hectares. It is fed by the Westlake, Keysers and Sand rivers. The Diep River flows from the mountains above Constantia to Little Princessvlei, which is drained by the Sand River, which flows into the northeast of Sandvlei. The Westlake River, also known as the Steenberg or Raapkraal River, originates on the slopes of

1314-409: Is unusual and associated with a cut-off low pressure system causing the south-easterly winds to blow for an unusually long time over enough fetch to develop a sea sufficiently for it to be refracted by the shoal area. Wave height of southwesterly swells decreases from west to east along the north coast of False Bay from around Macassar to Gordon's Bay due to the effects of refraction and friction of

1387-518: The Cape Colony , and over a hundred years later, in 1935, the rugged area finally became accessible, when a road was built. This brought about rapid change, as the Department of Forestry took over the region in 1937 and declared its intention of using the area for state timber plantations. The idea of turning the region into a nature reserve was first brought up by local landowner Harry Molteno , who put

1460-598: The Rossby waves as they move eastwards over the southern ocean. A southwesterly wind follows the passage of a cold front as the anticyclone moves east and merges with the South Atlantic High , producing strong south-easterly winds. The high pressure cell moves further over the tip of Africa and splits off the South Atlantic high, with weakening south easterly winds, followed by a coastal low with north-westerly wind before

1533-406: The 19th century, but have been stopped as they were depleting stocks, conflicting with other fisheries and users, and damaging the environment. Illegal gillnetting is still a problem. Penguin eggs were collected until 1968, whaling operations took place until 1975, seals were hunted for fur until 1984, and guano was collected until 1991. All of these activities had a severely detrimental effect on

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1606-508: The Agulhas Bank, but is considerably narrower off False Bay. This ecoregion has the highest number of South African marine endemics, and is a breeding area for many species. The transition between the Agulhas ecoregion and the cooler Benguela ecoregion is at Cape Point, on the western boundary of False Bay. False Bay also contains South Africa's largest naval base at Simon's Town (historically

1679-488: The Bay and entering at Cape Hangklip. When there is no strong wind forcing, tidal forcing can occur on the incoming and outgoing tides. A fairly uniform northward flow occurs during flooding tides, and southward during ebbing tides, with bathymetry affecting the flow direction in shallow areas. These currents are most noticeable along the coastline and in the shallow northern parts of the bay between Simon's Town and Gordon's Bay. In

1752-479: The Cape Flats a strait. During glacial periods the sea level dropped to expose the bottom of False Bay to weathering and erosion, the last major regression leaving the entire bottom of False Bay exposed. During this period an extensive system of dunes was formed on the sandy floor of False Bay. At this time the drainage outlets lay between Rocky Bank and Cape Point to the west, and between Rocky Bank and Hangklip Ridge to

1825-596: The Cape Flats from Simon's Town halfway down the Cape Peninsula to the north-eastern corner at Gordon's Bay. There are also two small towns of the Overberg region on the east coast of the bay, Rooiels and Pringle Bay . Coastal landmarks visible from offshore in False Bay, listed clockwise from Cape Point to Cape Hangklip: The bottom morphology of False Bay is generally smooth and fairly shallow, sloping gently downwards at about 3 m per km from north to south, so that

1898-763: The Cape Flats, but most of the catchment of the Eerste River is in the Stellenbosch district, between the Helderberg and Stellenbosch Mountains, and the Jonkershoek Valley. The catchment of the Lourens River is in the Helderberg region. It is the largest river of the region. The source is in Diepgat Ravine, in the Hottentots Holland Mountains. It is joined by minor tributaries from Landdroskloof and Sneeukopkloof in its upper reaches, The river flows in

1971-480: The Cape and was instructed to survey False Bay, but it is not known how much was done before they were recalled. Simon van der Stel , appointed commander of the station in 1679, sailed False Bay in November 1687 on the galiot De Noord , took the earliest recorded soundings, and described the islands, reefs and shoreline of the bay. By the end of the 17th century the general bathymetry was known. The Whittle Rock reef

2044-601: The Hottentots Holland south of Schapenberg. It enters the bay in Gordon's Bay. The Steenbras River catchment is to the east of the Hottentots Holland mountains, and almost all of its water is retained by the upper and lower Steenbras Dams , which are a significant part of the municipal water supply to the City of Cape Town. Steenbras River mouth is south of Gordon's Bay. The Rooiels River enters False Bay at Rooiels beach. It drains

2117-695: The Hottentots-Holland mountains of the Overberg, extending south as far as Cape Hangklip. The eastward draining rivers of the Southern Peninsula are generally fairly short and steep, and some, such as the Silvermine and Elsje rivers, have valley bottom wetlands at the coast. The Buffels River flows from a small spring to its mouth in Buffels Bay, the Klawersvlei River flows northwest from behind

2190-626: The Steenberg Plateau, then south through the Silvermine Valley before crossing the coastal Fish Hoek plain to enter False Bay at Clovelly on the north side of Fish Hoek Bay. Between these short and fairly steep streams, rainwater runoff generally flows directly down the mountainside into the bay. The Sandvlei catchment drains the east side of the mountains north of Muizenberg and south of the Liesbeek catcment into False Bay: Sandvlei (Zandvlei)

2263-745: The Steenberg and flows through the Kirstenhof wetlands into the north west of Sandvlei, and the Keysers River and its tributaris, the Grootbosch, Spaanschemat and Prinseskasteel rivers rise on Constantiaberg. The upper reaches of the Spaanschemat River are known as the Glen Alpine Stream, which originates below Constantia Nek and is joined by the Eagles Nest Stream. Historically the Cape Flats

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2336-508: The Steenbras ridge. Just outside the bay, there is a large shoal area at Rocky Bank , and a large ridge extending south-west from Cape Hangklip, which channels cold, nutrient-rich water into the west side of the bay during upwelling events. The three main rock formations are the late- Precambrian Malmesbury Group (sedimentary and metamorphic rock), the Peninsula granite , a huge batholith that

2409-512: The Western extreme of the Michell's Pass (2,008 m (6,588 ft)) and Groot Winterhoek Peak North of Tulbagh (2,077 m (6,814 ft)). The northern shore, is defined by a very long, curving, sandy beach. This sandy, northern perimeter of the bay is the southern edge of the area known as the Cape Flats. The bay is 30 km wide at its widest point. Suburbs of Cape Town stretch right across

2482-429: The bay between Rocky bank and Hangklip Ridge. Outside the bay, but influencing the wave patterns in it, is Rocky Bank , an extensive area of relatively flat sandstone reef between 20 and 30 m depth on the top, sloping down on all sides, but mostly to the south and east, where the depth can exceed 100 m. A long underwater sandstone ridge sweeps across the eastern side of the mouth from Cape Hangklip towards

2555-443: The bay. A clockwise rotation driven by the south-easterly winds mostly occurs during summer. This circulation is partly set up by west-north-westerly flow south of the bay splitting at Cape Point. The northerly component sets up flow towards the equator on the western shores. South-easterly winds cause this clockwise pattern to dominate. North-westerly winds cause an anti-clockwise circulation, with an eastward current flowing south of

2628-480: The close inshore waters are also shallow, the 100 m contour is mostly within about 10 km of the west coast, while the entire False Bay is shallower than about 90 m. The bottom of the bay slopes down relatively gradually from the gently sloping beaches of the north shore to the mouth, and has a fairly even depth from east to west except close to the shorelines, with three major features disrupting this gentle slope. These are Seal Island , Whittle Rock , and

2701-568: The core conservation area, is exceptionally untouched. The mountain slopes are closed to the public and strictly protected. However, there is a portion that is open for hiking, along the valleys and waterfalls of the Steenbras River Gorge. The R44 road is a scenic road that skirts the mountainous coast of the Kogelberg reserve. Whales and dolphins can also frequently be seen from this road. Kogelberg Mountains The Kogelberg

2774-451: The deeper areas of the mouth of the bay, tidal and inertial currents appear to contribute to the variability of the deeper part of the water column, along with the effects of wind forcing. Wave energy focused by the various shoal areas outside and inside the bay is a driver of nearshore currents, particularly in the northern parts of the bay. In summer False Bay is thermally stratified, with a vertical temperature variation of 5 to 9˚C between

2847-515: The depth at the centre of the mouth is about 80 m. The bottom is covered with sediment which ranges from very coarse to very fine, with most of the fine sediment and mud in the centre of the bay. The main exception is a long ridge of sedimentary rock that extends in a southward direction from off the Strand, to approximately level with the mouth of the Steenbras River. The southern tip of this ridge

2920-404: The early colonial era, explorers occasionally penetrated the mountains and reported on the area's unusual beauty and teeming wildlife, however no permanent settlements were made, as the landscape was considered far too extreme and inaccessible for farming. The Kogelberg region therefore remained almost pristine. In the early 19th century the whole area was designated "Crown Land" by the government of

2993-448: The east (The Dutch East Indies ) initially confused Cape Point and Cape Hangklip, which are somewhat similar in form. Hangklip was known to the early Portuguese seafarers as Cabo Falso, or False Cape, and the name of the bay derived from the cape. Commercial fishing was started in the late 17th century soon after settlement by the Dutch. In 1672 the Dutch warship Goudvinck was stationed at

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3066-533: The east. Swell entering the bay is predominantly the product of the westerly winds blowing over the Southern Ocean. The prevailing swell is about 12 to 25 second period from the southwest with average height of about 3 m. It impinges directly on the east coast of the bay, amplified by refraction over Rocky Bank in the region near the Steenbras River mouth, where rogue waves may occur. Further west

3139-426: The entire southern side open to the ocean. The area of False Bay has been measured at about 1,090 km (420 sq mi), and the volume is approximately 45 km (11 cu mi) (average depth about 40 m). The land perimeter has been measured at 116 km, from a 1:50,000 scale map. The eastern and western shores of the bay are very rocky and even mountainous; in places large cliffs plunge into

3212-482: The establishment of the Kogelberg preserve, comprising the land lying south of the N2 and west of the Palmiet River - with necessary infrastructure, fencing and biological surveys. In 1987, this conservation area was transferred to Cape Nature Conservation , and formally became a nature reserve by the more specific standards of that body. Later developments include the construction of new visitors facilities in 2012, as well as

3285-470: The influence of the warm Agulhas Current . The La Niña phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation cycle tends to increase rainfall in this region in the dry season (November to April). The winds have a strong influence on the waves and water circulation and through it the sea surface temperature. The wind follows a characteristic pattern, which shifts in latitude with the seasons and follows

3358-754: The mountains above Miller's Point over the plateau behind Simon's Town, before turning east over the escarpment and a high waterfall, entering the bay near the Simon's Town railway station, the Elsjes River flows from the Red Hill plateau to enter False Bay from the Glencairn valley, and the Silvermine River, originally known as the Esselstein Rivier, drains the valley south of the Steenberg mountains and flows east across

3431-403: The north shore. Where the slopes are steeper rip currents may occur which are a hazard to swimmers. Northward propagating long period waves are focused in the northeast and northwest parts of False Bay by refraction effects over the shoal waters of Rocky Bank in the mouth of the bay, with measured heights of waves in the area between Steenbras mouth and Kogelbaai being up to twice the height of

3504-401: The northern and north-easterly regions. Waves may have more influence on nearshore temperature than wind. Upwelling outside the bay along the coast east of Hangklip can also supply cold water to the bay Drainage into False Bay can be considered from four watersheds: The east-flowing streams of the southern Cape Peninsula, the Cape Flats, the Helderberg basin, and the south-westwards drainage of

3577-464: The northern boundary of False Bay. From Gordon's Bay the coastline swings roughly south, and zig-zags its way along the foot of the Hottentots Holland Mountains to Cape Hangklip which is at nearly the same latitude as Cape Point. The highest peak on this side is Kogelberg at 1,269 m (4,163 ft). In plan the bay is approximately square with rather wobbly edges, being roughly the same extent from north to south as east to west (30 km), with

3650-486: The proposal to his Cape Tercentenary Foundation board on 18 April 1951. A passionate fynbos enthusiast, he advocated for this vast stretch of mountain range to be returned to its natural state, for which he secured the vital support of the Cape Western Conservancy and Professor Harold Compton of Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens . Later in the decade, his dream was finally realised when his financial grant secured

3723-570: The relatively durable contact zone between the Peninsula granite and the Tygerberg sediments, with deep valleys cut into the bedrock during the glacial maximum, which have since been filled with sediments. The drainage of the west side passed to the west of Seal Island, Whittle Rock and Rocky Bank. The east side was drained by a valley between Seal Island and East Shoal, and another valley to the east of Steenbras Ridge, which joined east of Rocky bank and exit

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3796-553: The sand along the north coast of the bay. The Elsieskraal River and the Black River catchment drain to the northwest into Table Bay, and do not affect False Bay. The Diep River catchment drains into Zandvlei, and Zeekoevlei and its catchment also drain to Zandvlei at times. The Eerste River and its tributary the Kuils River , drain into False Bay on the north coast, west of the Helderberg basin watershed. They drain part of

3869-412: The shores and deposited the shells in middens along the coast which indicate usage over some 10 000 years. Bartolomeu Dias in 1488 first referred to the bay as "the gulf between the mountains". The name "False Bay" was applied early on (at least three hundred years ago) by sailors who confused the bay with Table Bay to the north. According to Schirmer, the confusion arose because sailors returning from

3942-580: The south (14 to 20 °C) during the year. Surface temperature variation from year to year is linked to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation . During El Niño years the South Atlantic high is shifted, reducing the south-easterly winds, so upwelling and evaporative cooling are reduced and sea surface temperatures throughout the bay are warmer, while in La Niña years there is more wind and upwelling and consequently lower temperatures. Surface water heating during El Niño increases vertical stratification. The relationship

4015-619: The south western Cape and are home to forests of indigenous trees such as Wild almond , Butter-spoon , Rapanea and Yellowwoods. Shady montane forests exist in several spots - like Louwsbos, Platbos and Oudebos - where relic Southern Afrotemperate Forests grow in the ravines and river valleys. The aboriginal inhabitants of the Kogelberg mountains were the San hunter-gatherers and the Khoi herders, whose shell-middens and burial areas can still be found. During

4088-468: The southeast. False Bay is at the extreme western end of the inshore Agulhas marine ecoregion which extends from Cape Point to the Mbashe river over the continental shelf, in the overlap zone between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point where the warm Agulhas Current and the cooler South Atlantic waters mix. The continental shelf is at its widest in this ecoregion, extending up to 240 km (150 mi) offshore on

4161-455: The southwest, that is believed to affect water circulation in the bay. On the west side, a relatively shallow area of granite reef extends beyond the Cape Peninsula, with one major navigational hazard at Bellows Rock and a lesser one somewhat closer inshore at Anvil Rock. The bathymetry of False Bay differs in character from the west side of the Cape Peninsula. The west coast seabed tends to slope down more steeply than in False Bay, and although

4234-453: The steady expansion of the surrounding "biosphere reserve". The 1,000-square-kilometre (390 sq mi) Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve includes the nature reserve as part of its "core conservation area". As such, the nature reserve is surrounded by buffer zones of natural vegetation and environmentally friendly recreational areas, as well as transitional zones of environmentally aware farms and towns. The Kogelberg Nature Reserve itself, as

4307-464: The surface. The largest of these, and the most significant navigational hazard in the bay, is Whittle Rock , a large outcrop of granite about halfway into the bay and a quarter of the way across from the Cape Peninsula ( 34°14.846′S 18°33.714′E  /  34.247433°S 18.561900°E  / -34.247433; 18.561900 ), which is about a kilometre in diameter and rises from a fairly flat sand bottom at about 40 m to within 4 m of

4380-528: The surface. There are smaller outlying granite reefs scattered to the south, east, and west of Whittle Rock, and more smaller granite reefs to the northwest. Most of these reefs on the western side of the bay are granite of the Peninsula pluton, but east of Seal Island they are generally sandstone, either of the Table Mountain series, or of the underlying Tygerberg formation. Whittle Rock reef can refract large south easterly storm waves, increasing their size in

4453-424: The surrounding areas, and bottom temperatures below 12 °C. In the summer to early autumn (January–March), cold water upwelling near Cape Hangklip causes a strong surface temperature gradient between the south-western and north-eastern corners of the bay. In winter the surface temperature tends to be much the same everywhere. In the northern sector surface temperature varies a bit more (13 to 22 °C) than in

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4526-521: The swell refracts and diffuses around a fairly large shoal area around Cape Point, and is moderately to severely attenuated by the time it reaches the western shores. Waves along the north coast of the bay between Macassar and Muizenberg generally break by spilling as the slope is gradual. In summer, strong south-easterly winds blow over a fetch partly limited by the width of the bay and generate short period wind waves of around 6 seconds and 2 m height, and produce multiple lines of breakers along

4599-424: The targeted populations and are now illegal. Commercial abalone diving has been severely restricted as the resource was overfished but illegal exploitation of the resource continues. Recreational abalone extraction has been discontinued. There have been symposia, in 1968 and 1989, on the socio-ecological importance of False Bay, with reviews of the oceanography and biology of the bay and human impact on it. Over

4672-412: The vicinity of Kalk Bay harbour. Other shoal areas include the granite reefs at Roman Rock in Simon's Bay, hard sedimentary or metamorphic rock at York shoal and hard sandstone at East shoal, and several isolated granite outcrops which are too deep to be navigational hazards in the western part of the bay. The palaeo-drainage of the bay is split between the western side of the bay and the eastern side by

4745-403: The warmer surface water and cooler depths below 50 m, while in winter the water column is at nearly constant temperature at all depths. The development of a thermocline is strongest around late December and peaks in late summer to early autumn. In summer the south easterly winds generate a zone of upwelling near Cape Hangklip, where surface water temperatures can be 6 to 7 °C colder than

4818-591: The water. Notable peaks associated with the bay include Koeëlberg (1,289 m (4,229 ft)), which rises from the water itself forming the highest point of the Kogelberg, as well as Somerset Sneeukop (1590m / 5217 feet) and Wemmershoek Peak (1,788 m (5,866 ft)) which are clearly visible across the bay. Some of the highest peaks visible across False Bay include Du Toits Peak near Paarl (1,995 m (6,545 ft)), Klein Winterhoek Peak near Tulbagh (1,995 m (6,545 ft)), Mostertshoek Peak at

4891-437: The wave base on larger areas of offshore reef before reaching the shoreline. Tides are regular, semi-diurnal , and relatively weak, and there are no strong tidal currents. Maximum tidal range at Simon's Town is 2.0 m at highest astronomical tide, with minimum range of about 0.56 m at mean neap tides. When large waves break at Macassar on a high tide the beach is known to be dangerous for swimming and beach erosion

4964-458: The waves in the Muizenberg to Strandfontein region for the prevailing southwesterly open ocean swell. The focusing effect is mostly on swells with a period of 13 seconds or more, and a direction between 210° and 245° true. The smaller and shallower reef at Whittle Rock towards the west side of the bay has a similar but lesser effect, and can focus longer period south-easterly waves on Kalk Bay. This

5037-451: The west and Cape Hangklip to the east. The north side of the bay is the low-lying Cape Flats , and the east side is the foot of the Hottentots Holland Mountains to Cape Hangklip which is at nearly the same latitude as Cape Point. In plan the bay is approximately square, being roughly the same extent from north to south as east to west, with the southern side open to the ocean. The seabed generally slopes gradually down from north to south, and

5110-461: The western and southern coasts of the Western Cape. The present landscape is due to prolonged erosion having carved out deep valleys, removing parts of the once continuous Table Mountain group sandstone cover from the Cape Flats and leaving high residual mountain ridges. At times the sea covered the Cape Flats and Noordhoek valley and the Cape Peninsula was then a group of islands, and False Bay and

5183-489: The years, a number of ships have been wrecked in False Bay, due to weather, war, errors in navigation, other accidents, or intentional scuttling. These include: Shipwrecks: Scuttled: The climate is Mediterranean , with warm, dry summers and cool, damp winters. In winter, gales and storms from the northwest are common and can be ferocious. False Bay is exposed to southeasterly winds in summer and its waters are approximately 6 °C warmer than those of Table Bay , owing to

5256-603: Was intruded into the Malmesbury Group about 630 million years ago, and the Table Mountain group sandstones that were deposited on the eroded peneplain surface of the granite and Malmesbury series basement about 450 million years ago. The sand, silt and mud deposits were lithified by pressure and then folded during the Permian–Triassic Cape Orogeny to form the Cape Fold Belt , which extends along

5329-434: Was partly covered in wetlands, particularly during winter, and retained much of its rainfall. Many of these wetlands have been destroyed by canalisation and infilling to provide residential space. Many of the remaining perennial vleis are at the southwest side of the region.( Zeekoevlei , Rondevlei , Zandvlei etc.) and drain into the bay at Muizenberg through the estuary at Zandvlei. There is also groundwater seepage through

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