Swartkops

Swartkops is a village in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

Swartkops
Swartkops Show map of Eastern Cape Swartkops Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 33.8752°S 25.6048°E / -33.8752; 25.6048
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
Municipality	Nelson Mandela Bay
Main Place	Port Elizabeth
Area [1]
• Total	0.59 km2 (0.23 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	883
• Density	1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	21.7%
• Coloured	6.5%
• Indian/Asian	0.9%
• White	70.9%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Afrikaans	60.7%
• English	26.2%
• Xhosa	10.3%
• Sotho	1.7%
• Other	1.1%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	6210
PO box	6209
Area code	041

The location is on the Swartkops River, 11 km north of Port Elizabeth and 1,6 km from the Indian Ocean. Swartkops means "black hills" in Afrikaans, and the name is said to refer to surrounding hillocks crested with dark shadows.^[2]

A railway junction was built here by the Cape Government Railways in 1872, to service the lines being constructed to Makhanda and Alicedale in the east, Port Elizabeth to the south, and Uitenhage to the west.^[3]

Transport

Roads

The main route through Swartkops is Grahamstown Road (R102 regional route) which leads southwards to Deal Party and Port Elizabeth and northwards to Motherwell and Markman.

The M17 route, named Dibanisa Road, passes Swartkops to the west running northwards to Markman and southwards to iBhayi. The M19 route, named Trunk Road, passes Swartkops to the south running westwards to Redhouse, Perseverance, Despatch and Uitenhage.