Amersfoort

History

The town was established in 1888 around a Dutch Reformed Church which was built in 1876. Lying at 1,664 m above sea level in the upper reaches of the Vaal River basin on the banks of the Schulpspruit, the area was first settled by Europeans in 1876 when two farmers of the area donated land to the church, where Rev. Frans Lion Cachet proceeded to build a Dutch Reformed church. The new village was named after the hometown (in the Netherlands) of the Dutch farmers. When the area became too small for the growing village, more land was purchased from one of the original donors and the town was proclaimed in 1888. The bridge over the Vaal River was built in 1896 and is a national monument. The township of eZamokuhle (meaning "to make it beautiful") lies adjacent to the town and contributes greatly to its economy.

Most-observed species

• Cape Wagtail

  Motacilla capensis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  511
• African Pipit

  Anthus cinnamomeus Rüppell, 1840 · Aves
  489
• Red-capped Lark

  Calandrella cinerea (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  435
• Long-tailed Widowbird

  Euplectes progne (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  434
• Southern Anteater-Chat

  Myrmecocichla formicivora (Wilkes, 1817) · Aves
  383
• Cape Crow

  Corvus capensis Lichtenstein, 1823 · Aves
  365
• African Stonechat

  Saxicola torquatus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  360
• Spike-heeled Lark

  Chersomanes albofasciata (Lafresnaye, 1836) · Aves
  357

Most recent

• M 4.4 — 2012-05-27
  14 km S of Piet Retief, South Africa