Ceres, Western Cape

Ceres
Town centre of Ceres with its main street on a winter day
Ceres Show map of Western Cape Ceres Show map of South Africa Ceres Show map of Africa  Ceres shown within Western Cape
Coordinates: 33°22′S 19°19′E / 33.367°S 19.317°E / -33.367; 19.317Coordinates: 33°22′S 19°19′E / 33.367°S 19.317°E / -33.367; 19.317
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
District	Cape Winelands
Municipality	Witzenberg
Established	1854
Area
• Total	80.7 km2 (31.2 sq mi)
Elevation	450 m (1,480 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	33,224
• Density	410/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	28.7%
• Coloured	61.4%
• Indian/Asian	0.4%
• White	8.5%
• Other	1.0%
First languages (2011)
• Afrikaans	70.2%
• Xhosa	23.0%
• Sotho	2.9%
• English	2.1%
• Other	1.9%
Postal code (street)	6835
PO box	6835
Area code	023

Ceres is the administrative centre and largest town of the Witzenberg Local Municipality in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Ceres serves as a regional centre for the surrounding towns of Wolseley, Tulbagh, Op-die-Berg and Prince Alfred Hamlet. It is situated in the Warmbokkeveld (Afrikaans: "warm antelope field") Valley about 170 km north-east of Cape Town. Ceres is located at the north-eastern entrance to Michell's Pass and was the old route north between Cape Town and Johannesburg, which was later replaced by the N1 highway, which traverses the Breede River Valley to the south.

It was named after the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres, a name which is fitting as the valley in which the town is situated is extremely fertile and is a major producer of South Africa's deciduous fruit.

Ceres experiences a typical Mediterranean climate tempered by its altitude. The town experiences warmer temperatures in summer, due to its inland location with infrequent rainfall, however winters are cool to quite cold and wet, with frequent snowfalls on the surrounding higher-lying ground, rarely falling on the valley floor itself. Total annual precipitation averages 1088 mm, with average temperatures ranging from a February maximum of 29,9 °C to a July minimum of 2,4 °C.

The Warmbokkeveld is climatically warmer than the surrounding highlands, which is known as the Kouebokkeveld ("cold antelope field"), with the latter often experiencing snowfalls in winter.