Editing Overberg (section)

{{short description|Region of the Western Cape in South Africa, east of Cape Town}}
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{{about|the region in South Africa|the District Municipality|Overberg District Municipality|other uses}}
[[Image:CapeOverberg.jpg|thumb|280px|right|Typical summer (dry season) Overberg landscape with the [[Kleinrivier Mountains|Babilonstoring Mountains]] beyond between [[Caledon, Western Cape|Caledon]] and [[Bot River]]]]
[[Image:CapeOverberg spring.jpg|thumb|right|280px|Overberg in the early spring with canola fields in the foreground and [[Riviersonderend]] Mountains in the background]]
[[File:Overberg topographic map.svg|thumb|right|280px|Map of the Overberg]]

'''Overberg''' is a region in South Africa to the east of [[Cape Town]] beyond the [[Hottentots-Holland]] mountains. It lies along the [[Western Cape Province]]'s south coast between the [[Cape Peninsula]] and the region known as the [[Garden Route]] in the east. The boundaries of the Overberg are the [[Hottentots-Holland]] mountains in the West; the [[Riviersonderend Mountains]], part of the  [[Cape Fold Belt]], in the North; the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Indian Ocean|Indian Oceans]] in the South and the [[Breede River]] in the East.

The area has always been considered as the breadbasket of the Cape and is largely given to grain farming &mdash; mainly wheat. The wheat fields are a major breeding ground for [[South Africa]]'s national bird, the [[blue crane]]. Another important crop in the Overberg is fruit, with the [[Elgin, Western Cape|Elgin Valley]] producing about 60 percent of the total annual apple crop of about 819 000 tonnes (2012 data).<ref>{{cite web|last=Binard|first=M. Phillipe|title=WAPA Releases Southern Hemisphere Apple and Pear Crop Forecasts|url=http://wapa-association.org/docs/2013/Press_release_WAPA_AGM_8.02.13.pdf|work=WAPA Press Release|access-date=24 May 2013}}</ref>

Nestled in the Overberg, one can find the [[Kogelberg|Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve]] (recognised and registered with [[UNESCO]]) populated with a large diversity of flowering plants not found anywhere else in the [[fynbos]] [[biome]].

The major towns are [[Hermanus]], [[Caledon, Western Cape|Caledon]], [[Bredasdorp]], [[Grabouw]] and [[Swellendam]] and the region includes [[Cape Agulhas]], the southernmost point of [[Africa]]. The landscape is dominated by gently to moderately undulating hills enclosed by mountains and the ocean.

The name, derived from ''Over 't Berg'', means "over the ([[Hottentots-Holland]]) mountain" and is a reference to the region's location relative to [[Cape Town]].<ref>{{cite book|last = Raper|first = P.E.|title = South African Place Names|publisher = Jonathan Ball, Jhb & Cape Town|year = 2004|isbn = 1-86842-190-2|page = 296}}</ref>