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1620 Robben Island earthquake

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The 1620 Robben island earthquake is widely accepted as the oldest recorded earthquake in South African history. It reportedly occurred on April 7, 1620 off Robben Island, with a Mercalli intensity of II – IV (Weak–Light). The event was observed by Augustin de Beaulieu, who was leading a fleet of three ships on Table Bay at the time, who recorded "two startling thunderclaps like cannon shots while ship was becalmed near Robben Island" between 6:00 and 7:00.In 2012, Sharad Master of the South African Journal of Science has disputed the accuracy of the recording of the event, concluding that the thunderclaps were very likely atmospheric phenomena. He argues that it was the slight quake which occurred off Cape Town in 1690 which is actually the oldest recorded one in South Africa which can be verified, of Mercalli intensity III.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article 1620 Robben Island earthquake (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

1620 Robben Island earthquake

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N -33.81 ° E 18.352 °
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Robben Island Village



Western Cape, South Africa
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Mouille Point
Mouille Point

Mouille Point ("Mu-lee") is an affluent suburb of Cape Town, situated between the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and Granger Bay to the east, Green Point to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west. The suburb hugs the coastline and is dominated by high-end apartment blocks. It is a very small suburb, having only two major roads (Beach Road and Bay Road). It is home to the Mouille Point promenade, a paved promenade on the coast that is used daily by thousands of Capetonians. Behind it lies the Green Point Common, where numerous playing fields and a golf course are situated. The new Green Point Urban Park & Biodiversity Garden is just behind Mouille Point and has an entrance on Bay Road. The name "Mouille" comes from the French word for an anchoring ground. In the early 18th century ships were often swept ashore in Table Bay and the then governor decided that a breakwater (mouille in French) was needed to protect vessels at anchor. Work began in 1743. All farmers who delivered their goods to the city were required to load up their wagons with stones, drive out to Mouille Point and offload. Slaves and convicts were used to build the breakwater but after three years of labour and high seas, just 100m had been built and the project was abandoned. In 1781 the French arrived and built a battery near the unfinished mouille, naming it Mouille Point Battery. The Green Point lighthouse is located here but, despite this, on 1 July 1966, during a fierce winter storm, a cargo ship, the S. A. Seafarer, ran aground between Mouille Point and Three Anchor Bay. Everybody on board was rescued by helicopters of 17 squadron from AFB Ysterplaat. The Mouille Point lighthouse is no longer in existence. It was once located at the far end of the suburb, near Granger Bay. For many years (c. 1960s) there was, opposite the lighthouse, a drive-in roadhouse named "The Doll House", where people used to go for a snack and coffee during the day, or after a movie at night, which was served on a tray clipped to the window of the vehicle. The local seagulls became wise to this smorgasbord and many a patron lost his or her sandwich to a robber gull that had landed on the roof of the car.In the period May 2020 through February 2021 there were 17 apartments sold in the suburb at an average price of R 48987 / m².

Blaauwberg Conservation Area

Blaauwberg Nature Reserve was proclaimed a local and provincial nature reserve in 2007. The reserve has views down fynbos slopes, across the city, to seven kilometres of rocky and sandy coastline and the ocean and beyond. The reserve presents itself as one of the few viewpoints in the world from where you can see two proclaimed world heritage sites, namely Table Mountain and Robben Island.Blaauwberg Nature Reserve conserves three threatened vegetation types: Cape Flats Dune Strandveld (endangered), Swartland Shale Renosterveld (critically endangered) and Cape Flats Sand Fynbos (critically endangered). The rich biodiversity embraces a wetland, 624 plant species, 41 mammal species (including whales, dolphins and seals), 166 bird species, 30 reptile species and four amphibians. The reserve is one of the few City of Cape Town nature reserves where it is possible to find white-tailed mouse (Mystromys albicaudatus) and Aardvark (Orycteropus afer). The holotype of Scelotes montispectus (Blaauwberg Dwarf Burrowing Skink) was collected within Blaauwberg Nature Reserve. There is also a population of Mystromys albicaudatus (white-tailed mouse) listed as endangered in the latest Red List of mammals of South Africa, as well as a total of eight Red List fauna species.Within the current 1,445 ha, there is evidence of early human occupation, with shell middens dating back approximately 15,000 years. The reserve also conserves the site of the 1806 Battle of Blaauwberg, when the British took possession of the Cape from the Dutch for the second time and retained ownership until South Africa's independence. On Blaauwberg Hill, several buildings were constructed during World War II, including a radar station, a lookout and a mess room. Since the then Blaauwberg Conservation Area's (BCA) inception, conservation in the area has progressed rapidly. Simple bollards in the coastal parking areas have stopped 4x4s from accessing and ultimately driving on the beach, and, already, the endangered vegetation has recovered and the Haematopus moquini (African black oystercatcher) has since returned. Illegal vehicles had not only endangered the vegetation and Haematopus moquini, but had destroyed a number of the shell middens.The conservation area is also used for recreational activities such as surfing, hiking, wind surfing, whale watching and picnics.