Knersvlakte, Natural landscape in Western Cape, South Africa

Knersvlakte is a semi-desert region of hilly terrain covered with small white quartz stones in Namaqualand, in the north-west corner of South Africa's Western Cape. It lies within the triangle formed by Vanrhynsdorp, Nuwerus and Lutzville, bounded to the east by the Bokkeveld Mountains and to the west by the Sandveld. The plain originated as a deposition surface and alluvial fan from the former delta of the Olifants and Sout rivers.

The name Knersvlakte comes from Afrikaans, literally "gnashing plain", coined by the Boers because the small stones crunched under the iron wheels of their wagons. The plain itself formed as a deposition surface and alluvial fan from the former delta of the Olifants and Sout rivers. In 2014 CapeNature and WWF established the Knersvlakte Nature Reserve, covering 855 square kilometres, on the initiative of WWF South Africa and the Leslie Hill Succulent Karoo Trust.

The name Knersvlakte means "gnashing plain" in Afrikaans, from the crunch of Boer wagon wheels on the quartz stones. The Knersvlakte Nature Reserve, 855 square kilometres managed by CapeNature, was set up in 2014 on the initiative of WWF South Africa and the Leslie Hill Succulent Karoo Trust. About 1,300 plant species grow here, 250 of them endemic, and 128 are on the Red List.

The Knersvlakte lies within the triangle formed by Vanrhynsdorp, Nuwerus and Lutzville in the Western Cape; the Sandveld borders it to the west and the Bokkeveld Mountains to the east. The 855-square-kilometre Knersvlakte Nature Reserve, managed by CapeNature, is reached from Vanrhynsdorp. Rain falls in the short, cool winter, so the dry summer months are harsh for walking.

The Knersvlakte holds around 1,300 plant species, of which about 250 are endemic and three genera occur nowhere else, among them Argyroderma and Oophytum. The reserve created in 2014 covers 855 square kilometres and is managed by CapeNature; a biosphere reserve designation is being sought.