Editing Hessequa Local Municipality (section)

==Geography==
The municipality covers an area of {{convert|5733|km2}} between the [[Langeberg]] mountains and the Indian Ocean, stretching from the [[Breede River]] in the west to the [[Gourits River]] in the east. It abuts on the [[Swellendam Municipality]] to the west, the [[Kannaland Municipality]] to the north, the [[Oudtshoorn Municipality]] to the northeast, and the [[Mossel Bay Municipality]] to the east.

According to the 2022 census, the municipality had a population of 71,918 people, increasing at an annual rate of 3.2% from 2011. Of these, 72.5% identified as "[[Coloureds|Coloured]]," 22% as "[[White South Africans|White]]," and 4.5% as "[[Ethnic groups in South Africa|Black African]]."<ref>https://citypopulation.de/en/southafrica/admin/western_cape/WC042__hessequa/</ref>

The largest town in the municipality is [[Riversdale, Western Cape|Riversdale]], which as of 2011 has a population of 16,176. Riversdale, which is the location of the municipal headquarters, is located on the [[Vet River (Western Cape)|Vet River]] close to the foothills of the Langeberg. [[Heidelberg, Western Cape|Heidelberg]] (pop. 8,259) and [[Slangrivier]] (pop. 3,011) are to the west of Riversdale, while [[Albertinia, Western Cape|Albertinia]] (pop. 6,372) is to the east. [[Stilbaai]] (pop. 3,514) is on the coast south of Riversdale at the mouth of the Vet River, with [[Jongensfontein]] (pop. 355) and [[Melkhoutfontein]] (pop. 2,533) nearby. [[Witsand]] (pop. 321) is on the western edge of the municipality at the mouth of the Breede River, while [[Gouritsmond]] (pop. 515) is on the eastern edge at the mouth of the Gourits River.