Michell's Pass

Michell's Pass

Former toll house on Michell's Pass
Elevation 490 m (1,608 ft)
Traversed by R46 road
Ceres branch line railway (closed)
Location Western Cape, South Africa
Range Skurweberg Mountains
Coordinates 33°22′44″S 19°17′47″E / 33.3788°S 19.2965°E / -33.3788; 19.2965Coordinates: 33°22′44″S 19°17′47″E / 33.3788°S 19.2965°E / -33.3788; 19.2965

Michell's Pass is a mountain pass in the Western Cape province of South Africa which approaches the town of Ceres from the south-west, connecting it to Tulbagh, Worcester and the Breede River Valley. The pass is traversed by the R46 road and the Ceres branch line railway, which was re-opened for use by the Ceres Rail Company in 2015. From its western entrance near Wolseley the pass ascends 190 metres (620 ft) to the summit at an elevation of 490 metres (1,610 ft), before descending a short distance into Ceres.

Ceres Rail Company's train in Michell's Pass, 19 December 2015

The pass was planned by Charles Collier Michell, Surveyor-General of the Cape Colony, for whom it was named. The road pass was constructed in 1848 by Andrew Geddes Bain.[1][2]

A railway line through the pass was constructed from 1910 to 1912. In 1938 the road was widened and paved.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michell's Pass.
  1. ↑ "Michells Pass (R46), Ceres". mountainpassessouthafrica. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  2. ↑ Raper, R.E. Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. Human Sciences Research Council (South Africa).
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