Editing Ottosdal

{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Ottosdal
| pushpin_map             = South Africa North West#South Africa
| coordinates             = {{coord|26|48|S|26|00|E|region:ZA|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type        = Country
| subdivision_name        = [[South Africa]]
| subdivision_type1       = Province
| subdivision_name1       = [[North West (South African province)|North West]]
| subdivision_type2       = District
| subdivision_name2       = [[Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality|Ngaka Modiri Molema]]
| subdivision_type3       = Municipality
| subdivision_name3       = [[Tswaing Local Municipality|Tswaing]]
| subdivision_type4       = Main Place
| established_title       = Established
| established_date        = 1913<ref name=established>{{cite thesis |last=Robson |first=Linda Gillian |title=The Royal Engineers and settlement planning in the Cape Colony 1806–1872: Approach, methodology and impact |date=2011 |type=PhD thesis |publisher=University of Pretoria |chapter=Annexure A |chapter-url=https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/26503/05back.pdf?sequence=6&isAllowed=y#page=31 |url=https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/26503 |hdl=2263/26503 |pages=xlv–lii}}</ref>
| leader_title            = Councillor
| area_footnotes          = <ref name=census2011>[http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/666026 Ottosdal] from Census 2011.</ref>
| area_total_km2          = 5.15
| population_footnotes    = <ref name=census2011>[http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/666026 Ottosdal] from Census 2011.</ref>
| population_total        = 884
| population_as_of        = 2011
| population_density_km2  = auto
<!-- demographics (section 1) -->
| demographics_type1      = Racial makeup (2011)
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name=census2011>[http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/666026 Ottosdal] from Census 2011.</ref>
| demographics1_title1    = [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Black African]]
| demographics1_info1     = 31.9%
| demographics1_title2    = [[Coloureds|Coloured]]
| demographics1_info2     = 2.9%
| demographics1_title3    = [[Indian South African|Indian]]/[[Asian South African|Asian]]
| demographics1_info3     = 5.5%
| demographics1_title4    = [[White South African|White]]
| demographics1_info4     = 58.5%
| demographics1_title5    = Other
| demographics1_info5     = 1%
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->
| demographics_type2      = [[First language]]s (2011)
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name=census2011>[http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/666026 Ottosdal] from Census 2011.</ref>
| demographics2_title1    = [[Tswana language|Tswana]]
| demographics2_info1     = 20.2%
| demographics2_title2    = [[Afrikaans]]
| demographics2_info2     = 61.7%
| demographics2_title3    = [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]]
| demographics2_info3     = 2.1%
| demographics2_title4    = [[Sotho language|Sotho]]
| demographics2_info4     = 1.7%
| demographics2_title5    = [[English language|English]]
| demographics2_info5     = 5.6%
<!-- blank fields (section 2) -->
<!-- Other information -->
| timezone1               = [[South African Standard Time|SAST]]
| utc_offset1             = +2
| postal_code_type        = [[List of postal codes in South Africa|Postal code]] (street)
| postal_code             = 2610
| postal2_code_type       = [[Post-office box|PO box]]
| postal2_code            = 2610
| area_code_type          = [[Telephone numbers in South Africa|Area code]]
| area_code               = 018
}}

'''Ottosdal''' is a small [[town]] situated at an altitude of 1,479 meters (4,855 feet) on the branch [[railway]] line from [[Makwassie]] in the central [[North West Province (South Africa)|North West Province]] of [[South Africa]]. Ottosdal is a farming community engaged in the growing of grains such as maize (mielies), [[sunflower]] and peanuts. In addition, local farmers raise cattle, sheep, pigs, dairy cows and chicken. A major [[pyrophyllite]] mine lies near it on the farm Gestoptefontein. This town originated from the establishment of a [[Dutch Reformed Church]] parish in 1913. To this was added a church building on Korannafontein, the farm of Gerhardus Petrus Otto. The town is known as the birthplace of "Die Baas", who was born there in 1952. Ottosdal grew around the church and was officially registered in 1917 and named after G. P. Otto (de Jager 1997).

==Climate==
Ottosdal has a relatively hot and dry climate. Summers are very hot. Winter, which seldom last more than two to three months a year, is characterized by cold nights and mild to warm days. The average yearly rainfall is 550&nbsp;mm (21.6&nbsp;inches). Precipitation primarily occurs between October and April in the form of heavy thunderstorms during the mid-summer and light rain in the Autumn. Hail can occur between December and February and it only snows once a decade at most. Between August and October, strong winds and dust storms can occur (de Jager 1997).

== Cultural and historic sites ==
Some of the cultural and historical sites in and near Ottosdal are:
* Trenches, cemeteries and British forts dating to [[Second Boer War]], which are located on the farms Gestoptefontein and Driekuil. Driekuil contains structures, which once were the headquarters of Major General Walter Kitchener, a major British Commanders in the western [[South African Republic|Transvaal]]. Also, there is the "Garden of Remembrance", which contains the graves of soldiers killed during the Second Boer War.
* The Ouplaas, one of the few surviving [[Boer]] mansions. It was built in 1907 for D. G. van der Merwe by the Italian architect, Sribante. It survives today as the Old Farm Guest House, "Ouplaas Gastehuis", which lies about {{convert|13|km|mi|sp=us}} west of Ottosdal.
* The farm Rietkuil which belonged to Boer prophet [[Siener van Rensburg]]. He is buried, along with the members of various other [[Voortrekker]] families, near Ottosdal. His prophesies about the Boer War, the 1914–1915 rebellion, the death of General Koos de la Rey and other events brought him to prominence among the Boere and South Africans in general.
* Khoisan (Late Stone Age) Rock Engravings on local farms. This rock art included petroglyphs showing game such as elephants, rhinos, ostriches, lions, buffalo, baboons, snakes and giraffes, which once occurred locally in great abundance thousands of years ago.
* A collection of African artifacts housed in a 1910 farmhouse converted to a museum.
* An 1860 water mill, which has been dedicated as a national monument.
* A church belonging to the [[Dutch Reformed Church]]. It was built in 1918; used until 1955; and is now a national heritage site.
* and {{convert|30|km|mi|sp=us}} from Ottosdal is the site of the Battle of Boschbult of the [[Second Boer War]]. It occurred on March 31, 1901.

== Pyrophyllite mines ==
A major industry of the Ottosdal area is the [[pyrophyllite]] mines located on the farm Gestoptefontein. These mines produce a very high quality pyrophyllite, which is a [[Silicate minerals|phyllosilicate]] [[mineral]] composed of [[aluminium]] [[silicate]] [[hydroxide]]: AlSi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>OH. The pyrophyllite is a [[metamorphism|metamorphosed]] [[clay]]. The clay was formed by the alteration of [[volcanic ash]], which apparently accumulated at the bottom of a quiet body of water. It forms a dense, but soft light grey, or darker, fine-grained stone, which splits into well-defined slabs. The [[stratum|strata]], in which it occurs, is a 3.0 to 3.1 billion year-old, over 2 kilometer-thick assemblage of arenaceous sediments, [[Conglomerate (geology)|conglomerates]], grits, basic [[volcanic]]s, [[tuff]]s, coarse [[Pyroclastic rock|pyroclastic]] rocks and [[quartzite]] called the "Dominion Group".

Originally, [[pyrophyllite]] was quarried and locally used for tombstones and building stone and to carve ornaments and utensils such as pots, dishes and cases. Currently, it is milled and processed near where it is mined to produce material used for the production of a wide variety of products. They include acid-resistant lab ceramics, refractory bricks and linings, filler in paint, electrical insulation, boilermaker's chalk, chromic-acid purification pots, and crucibles used in the manufacture polycrystalline-diamonds. Blocks of pyrophyllite are stilled quarried and sold as either "Wonderstone" or "African Stone" for sculpting. It can be easily carved with rasps and power tools and finished with a beautiful polish. The quarries are also the source of naturally grooved, spherical to disk-shaped, and sometimes intergrown [[concretion]]s composed of either [[hematite]], [[pyrite]], or [[wollastonite]], which are collected by gem, mineral, and rock collectors and [[klerksdorp sphere|subject of much folklore]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://home.intekom.com/lichtenburg/ottos-e.htm de Jager, J. P., 1997, "Ottosdal" Ottosdal Tourism Society]

==External links==
*Lanham, A. 2004. [http://www.miningweekly.co.za/article.php?a_id=59575 New horizons for Wonderstone], Creamer's Media Mining Weekly Online (December 4, 2004)
*[http://www.nwpg.gov.za/nwpg/index.asp North-West Province]

{{Geographic location
|Centre    = Ottosdal
|North     = [[Lichtenburg, North West|Lichtenburg]]
|East      = [[Hartbeesfontein]]<br />[[Klerksdorp]]
|Northeast = [[Coligny, North West|Coligny]]
|South     = [[Wolmaransstad]]
|Southeast = [[Leeudoringstad]]
|Southwest = [[Schweizer-Reneke]]
|West      = [[Delareyville]]
|Northwest = [[Sannieshof]]
}}
{{Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places in the Tswaing Local Municipality]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1917]]