List of Islands of South Africa

List of Islands of South Africa, An island or isle (/ˈaɪl/) is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islet
Islet
An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....

s. A key or cay

Cay

A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...

is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot

Ait

An ait is a small island. It is especially used to refer to islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England....

, /ˈaɪ.ət/. There is no standard of size which distinguishes islands from islets and continents.

When defining islands as pieces of land that are surrounded by water, narrow bodies of water like rivers and canals are often, but not always, left out of consideration. This is an attempt to list all islands 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...

, regardless whether they are located in the Oceans around us, in our rivers, in our lake, or in our reservoirs (or dams, as we call it in South Africa).

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
{|class="wikitable sortable" border="2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1"
!Name
!Province and location
!Area in Ha
!Coördinates
!description
|-
| Bird Island Group (3)||Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...

near Port Elizabeth|| || ||now part of the Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park is an elephant park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is recognized as one of the country's twenty national parks.- History :...

|-
| 1. Bird Island||Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

near Port Elizabeth||19 hectares (46.9 acre) ||33°50′S 26°17′E||now part of the Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park is an elephant park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is recognized as one of the country's twenty national parks.- History :...

|-
| 2. Stag Island||Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

near Port Elizabeth||0.1 hectare (0.247105163015276 acre) ||33°49′S 26°16′E||now part of the Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park is an elephant park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is recognized as one of the country's twenty national parks.- History :...

|-
| 3. Seal Island||Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

near Port Elizabeth||0.6 hectares (1.5 acre) ||33°50′S 26°16′E||now part of the Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park is an elephant park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is recognized as one of the country's twenty national parks.- History :...

|-
| Bird Island, Lamberts Bay||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...

at Lamberts Bay

Lamberts Bay

Lamberts Bay is a small fishing town in the Western Cape province of South Africa situated 280 kilometres north of Cape Town. It is part of the Cederberg Municipality....

||8 hectares (19.8 acre)||32°5′21"S 18°18′4"E||Breakwater walkway to main land
|-
| Dassen Island

Dassen Island

Dassen Island is a South African island in the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated about 10km west of Yzerfontein and 55km north of Cape Town. The flat and low-lying island measures about 3.1 km long northwest-southeast, and 1 km wide, with an area of 2.73 km²...

||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...

South of Saldanha Bay

Saldanha Bay

Saldanha Bay is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa, north west of Cape Town. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns into the Saldanha Bay Local Municipality in 2000. The current population of...

west of Yzerfontein

Yzerfontein

Yzerfontein is a small harbour town with about 1200 inhabitants on the west coast of South Africa about 90 km north of Cape Town. The main sources of income are tourism , and fishing....

||273 hectares (674.6 acre)||33°25′S 18°5′E||
|-
| Duiker Island

Duiker Island

Duiker Island or Duikereiland is an island off Hout Bay near Cape Town South Africa. It is 77 by 95 metres in size, with an area of about 0.4 hectare. The island is renowned for its marine wildlife such as birds and fur seal. It is visited regularly by tourists and photographers by boat via...

||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...

near Hout Bay

Hout Bay

Hout Bay is the name of a coastal suburb of Cape Town, South Africa with a mix of neighbourhoods from the very rich to the very poor. It lies in a valley on the Atlantic Seaboard of the Cape Peninsula and is twenty kilometres south of the Central Business District of Cape Town...

||0.4 hectare (0.988420652061104 acre)|| 34°3′S 18°19′E ||
|-
| Dyer Island (Ilha da Fera = Island of wild creatures)||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...

near Gans Bay||30 hectares (74.1 acre)||34°40′S 19°25′E||
|-
| Hartbeespoort Dam Islands||North West

North West (South African province)

North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mafikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng.-History:...

||1 hectares (2.5 acre)||25°45′S 27°53′E||
|-
| Kamfers Dam Artificial Island||Northern Cape

Northern Cape

The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...

North of Kimberley

Kimberley, Northern Cape

Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...

||0.3 hectare (0.741315489045828 acre)||28°40′S 24°45′E||located in the Kamfers Dam

Kamfers Dam

Kamfers Dam is a privately owned permanent water body of 400 ha, situated to the immediate north of Kimberley, South Africa. The wetland was originally an ephemeral pan, often dry and dependent on rain water...

.
|-
| Kosi Bay Islands||KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

in Kosi Bay

Kosi Bay

Kosi Bay is a series of four interlinked lakes in the Maputuland area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.The lakes form part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site....

||18 hectares (44.5 acre)||26°54′S 32°51′E||
|-
| Leisure Island||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...

, Knysna

Knysna

Knysna is a town with 76,431 inhabitants in the Western Cape Province of South Africa and is part of the Garden Route. It lies 34 degrees south of the equator, and is 72 kilometres east from the town of George on the N2 highway, and 25 kilometres west of Plettenberg Bay on the same road.-History:A...

||49 hectares (121.1 acre)||34°3′S 23°3′E||
|-
| Thesens Island||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...

, Knysna

Knysna

||70 hectares (173 acre)||34°2′S 23°3′E||
|-
| Marion Island ||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...

More than 1750 km southeast of Port Elizabeth||29000 hectares (71,660.5 acre)||46°52′S 37°43′E||
|-
| Msikaba Island||Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

north of Port Grosvenor

Port Grosvenor

Port Grosvenor was a harbour on the Wild Coast in South Africa, near the spot where the Indiaman Grosvenor was wrecked in 1782. It was only in use in 1885 and 1886.-History:...

|| ||31°19′S 29°58′E||
|-
| Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Islands

The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands, named Marion Island and Prince Edward Island, are located at ....

||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...

More than 1750 km southeast of Port Elizabeth||4500 hectares (11,119.7 acre) ||46°37′S 37°55′E||
|-
| Robben Island

Robben Island

Robben Island is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 km west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km². It is flat and only a...

||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...

near 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...

in Table Bay

Table Bay

Table Bay is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the flat-topped Table Mountain.Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to explore this...

||507 hectares (1,252.8 acre)||33°48′S 18°22′E||The island where Nelson Mandela spent a long time
|-
| Saint Croix Island Group (3)||Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

near Port Elizabeth|| || ||now part of the Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park is an elephant park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is recognized as one of the country's twenty national parks.- History :...

|-
| 1. Saint Croix Island||Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

near Port Elizabeth||12 hectares (29.7 acre) ||33°47′S 25°46′E||now part of the Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park is an elephant park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is recognized as one of the country's twenty national parks.- History :...

|-
| 2. Brenton Island||Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

near Port Elizabeth||5 hectares (12.4 acre) ||33°49′S 25°45′E||now part of the Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park is an elephant park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is recognized as one of the country's twenty national parks.- History :...

|-
| 3. Jahleel Island||Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

near Port Elizabeth||5 hectares (12.4 acre) ||33°48′S 25°42′E||now part of the Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park

Addo Elephant National Park is an elephant park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is recognized as one of the country's twenty national parks.- History :...

|-
| Saint Lucia Lake Island||KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

near St Lucia||197 hectares (486.8 acre)||27°57′S 32°29′E||
|-
| Seal Island|| near Simons Town in False Bay

False Bay

False Bay is a body of water defined by Cape Hangklip and the Cape Peninsula in the extreme South-West of South Africa.- Description and location :...

||4 hectares (9.9 acre)||34°8′S 18°34′E||Occupied by Cape Fur Seals.
|-
| Seal Island (Mossel Bay)||near Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay is a harbour town of about 130,000 people on the Southern Cape of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province...

|| ||34°9′S 22°7′E||
|-
| Vaal Dam Island||Just inside the Gauteng

Gauteng

Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...

border||110 hectares (271.8 acre)||26°52′S 28°10′E||
|-
| Vaaldegrace Island Group - Vaal River (3)||Free State

Free State

The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...

at Parys

Parys

Parys is a town situated on the banks of the Vaal River in the Free State province of South Africa. Population 43,791.In the eariy 1870's, towns in the northern Free State were situated very far apart and members of different churches had to travel great distances to participate in religious...

||110 hectares (271.8 acre)|| ||
|-
| 1. Vaaldegrace Island 1||Free State

Free State

at Parys

Parys

|| ||26°55′S 27°25′E||
|-
| 2. Vaaldegrace Island 2||Free State

Free State

at Parys

Parys

|| ||26°53′S 27°28′E||
|-
| 3. Vaaldegrace Island 3||Free State

Free State

at Parys

Parys

|| ||26°53′S 27°26′E||
|-
| Vondeling Island||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...

near Saldanha Bay

Saldanha Bay

||10 hectares (24.7 acre)||33°9′S 17°59′E||
|}

List of Islands in reservoires (or Dams)

(and islands in Estuaries) Most of these Islands are Unnamed
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
{|class="wikitable sortable" border="2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1"
!Name
!Province and location
!Area in Ha
!Coördinates
!description
|-
| Klipplaat Dam||Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...

between Kriel and Witbank

Witbank

Witbank , also known as eMalahleni is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the eMalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for White Ridge and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wagon transport drivers rested...

|| ||26°11′23"S 29°12′43"E ||Unnamed Island
|-
| Vaal Barrage

Vaal Barrage

Vaal Barrage is dam on the Vaal River near Vanderbijlpark, border Gauteng and Free State, South Africa. It was established in 1922.- References :* from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry...

||border Gauteng

Gauteng

Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...

and Free State

Free State

, between Vaal Dam

Vaal dam

The Vaal Dam in South Africa was constructed in 1938 and lies 77 km south of OR Tambo International Airport Formerly Jan Smuts Airport, then renamed Johannesburg International Airport in 1994, before being renamed yet again on 27th October 2006 as ORT. The lake behind the dam wall has a...

and the Barrage|| ||26°45′39"S 27°41′15"E ||4 Unnamed Islands
|-
| Vaal Dam

Vaal dam

||Free State

Free State

main section of the Dam has Groot Island||1.2 square kilometre (0.463322590311042 sq mi) ||26°51′49"S 28°10′21"E ||groot eiland
|-
| Vaal Dam

Vaal dam

||Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga

Vaal River section of the Dam has 4 Islands|| ||26°56′56"S 28°20′14"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Vaal Dam

Vaal dam

||Free State

Free State

Wilge River section of the Dam has 2 Islands|| ||27°5′25"S 28°18′46"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Kosi Estuary||KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

at Kosi Bay

Kosi Bay

Kosi Bay is a series of four interlinked lakes in the Maputuland area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.The lakes form part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site....

, has 2 Islands|| ||26°54′14"S 32°51′55"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Bloemhof Dam

Bloemhof Dam

Bloemhof Dam, was originally known as the Oppermansdrif Dam when under construction during the late 60's. Situated in the Vaal River, on the border between the North West, and Free State, provinces of South Africa. The dam wall is very long with a total length of 4 270m. The reservoir is very...

||Free State

Free State

has 15 Islands in the Vaal River

Vaal River

The Vaal River is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source in the Drakensberg mountains in Mpumalanga, east of Johannesburg and about 30 km north of Ermelo and only about 240 km from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its conjunction...

section of the Dam|| ||27°40′0"S 26°0′28"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Bloemhof Dam

Bloemhof Dam

||Free State

Free State

has 4 Islands in the Vet River section of the Dam|| ||27°48′2"S 25°46′24"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Ntshingwayo Chelsford Dam||KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

south of Newcastle

Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal

Newcastle is the third largest city and urban center in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Newcastle is located in the North West corner of the province along the Ncandu River and is moderately industrial....

has 1 Island|| ||28°0′41"S 29°51′17"E ||
|-
| Allemanskraal Dam

Allemanskraal Dam

The Allemanskraal Dam is a dam in the Free State province of South Africa, on the Sand River. It was established in 1960. The reservoir has a gross capacity of , and a surface area of , the dam wall is high.- References :...

||Free State

Free State

has 5 Islands|| ||28°17′47"S 27°9′35"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Driel Barrage||KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

near Bergville has 2 Islands|| ||28°46′24"S 29°15′58"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Kalkfontein Dam

Kalkfontein Dam

Kalkfontein Dam is a dam on the Riet River, near Koffiefontein, Free State, South Africa. It was established in 1938.- References :* from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry...

||Free State

Free State

near Koffiefontein

Koffiefontein

Koffiefontein is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa. Farming in the district focuses on cattle and sheep farming with lucerne, potatoes and ground nuts being the main crops sown. There are also a cheese factory and vineyards in the town...

has 2 Islands|| ||29°27′37"S 25°13′58"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Dudley Pringle Dam||KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....

near Tongaat has 2 Islands|| ||29°31′38"S 31°8′27"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Hazelmere Dam

Hazelmere Dam

Hazelmere Dam is a dam on the Mdloti River, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. It was established in 1977.- References :* from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry...

||Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

near Hazelmere, has 2 Islands|| ||29°35′37"S 31°1′36"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Vanderkloof Dam

Vanderkloof Dam

The Vanderkloof Dam is situated approximately 130km down stream from Gariep Dam and is fed by the Orange River, South Africa's largest river. Vanderkloof Dam is the second largest dam in South Africa, boasting the highest dam wall in the country at 108m...

||Free State

Free State

has 10 Islands|| ||30°4′43"S 24°49′55"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Gariep Dam

Gariep Dam

Gariep Dam is a dam in South Africa, near the town of Norvalspont, Free State, province South Africa.-Overview:The Gariep Dam was originally called the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam after the first Prime Minister of the Republic of South Africa Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd on its commission in 1971...

||Free State

Free State

has about 25 Islands|| ||30°39′13"S 25°40′8"E ||coordinates of largest given
|-
| Grassridge Dam

Grassridge Dam

The Grassridge Dam is a dam on the Great Brak River, near Hofmeyr, Eastern Cape, South Africa and is the starting point for the Fish River Canoe Marathon. The Dam was constructed in 1923 .- References :...

||Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

has 1 Island|| ||31°45′1"S 25°27′21"E ||
|}

List of Islands of South Africa

List of Islands in reservoires (or Dams)

See also