- Grootfontein
Grootfontein, Namibia
Area xxx km² (xxx mi²) Established 1885 Population 12,800 Population Density xxx/km² (xxx/mi²) Otjozondjupa Mayor Rapama Kamehozu Time Zone South African Standard Time: UTC +1Latitude and Longitude Latitude: 19.56°S Longitude: 18.09°E Grootfontein is a city in north eastern
Namibia . It lies on the B8, a Namibian National Road that leads fromWindhoek to theCaprivi Strip , in theOtavi triangle . InAfrikaans , its name means "Big Spring" - there is indeed a largehot spring near the town.Overview
In 1885, 40
Boer families from the north-west ofSouth Africa settled at Grootfontein. Part of theDorslandtrekker , they were heading towardsAngola . When that territory fell under Portuguese control, they turned back and tried to establish the "Republic Upingtonia " at Grootfontein. Abandoned by 1887, it became the headquarters of theSouth West Africa Company in 1893.Like all the towns in the Otavi triangle, Grootfontein is very green in summer but drier in winter. In spring,
jacaranda and flamboyant trees bloom in profusion. The town has an old GermanSchutztruppe fortress from the year 1896, which today houses amuseum that expounds on the local history. The economic mainspring of the area were for many decades theBerg Aukas andAbenab mines to the north east of the town. These producedzinc andvanadium but have since closed. This isdolomite country and thecarbonate deposits in the upper parts of the mine have yielded interestingfossil s ofsimian orpongoid creatures that lived millions of years before modern humans evolved.Twenty four kilometres west of Grootfontein lies the huge
Hoba meteorite . At over 60 tons, it is the largest knownmeteorite onEarth , as well as being the largest naturally occurring mass of iron known to exist on the planet's surface.Transport
Grootfontein is a
railhead onTransNamib , the national railway and transport system. Grootfontein also has a military base which housed several units of the now departedSouth African Defence Force . It has an airfield that can handle large transport carriers such as the Hercules C130, as well as commercial passenger aircraft.Adjacent station(s)
* (west) -
Otavi Namesake
There is another Grootfontein in Hardap province. [ [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/WA/30/Grootfontein.html Maps, Weather, and Airports for Grootfontein, Namibia ] ]
External links
* http://www.altefortmuseum.de - Website of the Alte Fort Museum in the former German Schutztruppe fortress
* [http://www.namibia-1on1.com/grootfontein.html Namibia-1on1 Local attractions in Grootfontein]
See also
*
Transport in Namibia
*FallingRain References
* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/WA/39/Grootfontein.html FallingRain Map - elevation = 1414m]
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