- This article is about the city in South Africa. For the area of London, United Kingdom, see East London, England.
East London (Afrikaans: Oos-Londen, Xhosa: Imonti, population 500,000) is a city in southeast South Africa, situated in the Eastern Cape Province at 32.97°S and 27.87°E.[1]. The city is situated on the Indian Ocean coast, the Buffalo River, and the Nahoon River , and is one of the country's most important ports.
A British fort, Fort Glamorgan, was built at the site of the city in 1847, and annexed to the Cape Colony that same year. Three villages grew around the fort, and were eventually combined to form the town of East London, which was elevated to city status in 1914.
In 1959, the Prince George Circuit race circuit opened; it hosted three Formula One South African Grand Prix races in the 1960s.
In 2000, East London became part of the municipality of Buffalo City, also consisting of King William's Town and Bisho.
On 26 December 2004 A death attributed to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami occurred at Gonubie , outside East London, 7 800km (4 800 miles) away from the earthquake that caused the giant wave. The epicenter of the earthquake was below the sea, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia.[2]
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