Bitterfontein is a village in the Knersvlakte

Knersvlakte

The Knersvlakte is a region of a hilly terrain covered with quartz gravel in Namaqualand in the north-west corner of the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The name is thought to be derived from the gnashing of teeth caused by the hard quartz stones as they are traveled over in wagon...

, the northernmost area of the Western Cape

Western Cape

The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

 province of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, 320 kilometres (198.8 mi) north of Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

. It is the railhead

Railhead

The word railhead is a railway term with two distinct meanings, depending upon its context.Sometimes, particularly in the context of modern freight terminals, the word is used to denote a terminus of a railway line, especially if the line is not yet finished, or if the terminus interfaces with...

 of a line from Cape Town; ore from the copper mines at Okiep is transferred there from road transport to the railway. It is also located on the N7 (Cape Town–Namibia) national road; the distance from Cape Town is 386 kilometres (239.8 mi) by road and 465 kilometres (288.9 mi) by rail.

Bitterfontein is located in the Matzikama Local Municipality

Matzikama Local Municipality

Matzikama Municipality is a local municipality located within the West Coast District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2007, it had a population of 46,362 . Its municipality code is WC011.-Government:...

, which is part of the West Coast District Municipality

West Coast District Municipality

The West Coast District Municipality is a district municipality located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its municipality code is DC1. Moorreesburg is the seat of the district...

. According to the 2001 Census, it had a population of 906 in an area of 1.77 square kilometre (0.683400820708787 sq mi). It is served by a police station, a primary school, a library, and a satellite health clinic.