Richtersveld is part of Little Namaqualand, the part of Namaqualand south of the Orange River. The original inhabitants of Namaqualand were overwhelmingly Khoi Khoi, but also included some San people. During the 19th century, other people started settling in Little Namaqualand. These included some white Trekboere, and also a number of so-called basters. Missionaries too started showing an interest in Little Namaqualand. The Rhenish Missionary Society established a mission station under the charge of Reverend Hein at Kuboes during the mid 19th century. On 23 December 1847 the British Crown, through annexation, extended the northern boundary of the then Cape Province from the Buffels River up to the Orange River. From that date the whole of Little Namaqualand became subject to British rule. In 1925 diamonds were discovered near Port Nolloth. In 1927 a particularly rich deposit was found at the mouth of the Orange River at Alexander Bay. Many people moved into the area. Throughout the 1960s through 1998, a Light Infantry Regiment of the SADF was garrisoned here along with 2 batteries of Self-Propelled Artillery
Geography
The municipality covers an area of in the north-western corner of South Africa where the Atlantic coast meets the Orange River border with Namibia. It borders on the Nama Khoi Local Municipality to the south and east, Namibia's ǁKaras Region to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. At the time of the 2011 census the municipality had a population of 11,982 in 3,543. The principal language was Afrikaans which is spoken by 87.0% of the population, followed by isiXhosa and English. 76.6% of the population identified themselves as "Coloured", 13.1% as "Black African", and 8.5% as "White". The principal town of the municipality is Port Nolloth which lies on the Atlantic coast in the southern part of the municipality. Other towns are Alexander Bay at the mouth of the Orange River, and Sanddrif which is adjacent to the Baken diamond mine. Other smaller settlements in the municipality include Sendelingsdrif and Grootderm along the Orange River, and Kuboes, Eksteenfontein and Lekkersing in the interior. The northernmost part of the municipal area is part of the ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, while immediately to the south of the park is the Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical LandscapeWorld Heritage Site. The main transport route in the municipality is the R382 road which runs from Steinkopf west to Port Nolloth, and then north along the coast to Alexander Bay.
