Sutherland is a town with about 2,841 inhabitants in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It lies in the western Roggeveld Mountains in the Karoo. History Sutherland was founded in 1855 as a church and market town to serve the area's sheep farmers. By 1872 the town had a population of 138 registered citizens living in 19 houses. The large Dutch Reformed church in the centre of Sutherland was built in 1899. During the Anglo Boer War the church was used as a fort by garrisoned British soldiers. During the war a number of engagements between British and Boer forces occurred in the town. In one such engagement a force of 250 Boer commandos attacked the local British garrison for 10 hours. The ruins of a fort can be found on the outskirts of town on the hill called Rebelskop. This was named after this engagement. Economy Major economic activities include tourism and sheep farming. The area includes at least twelve registered B&B's, guest houses and guest farms. The nearby South African Astronomical Observatory also plays a significant role in the town's economy and is a major driver of tourism to the area. The town also has a number of bars, restaurants and an amateur astronomy observatory that service the tourism sector. Sutherland has recently gained in popularity, with many Capetonians buying property in the town and many more visiting on weekends and vacations. Geography Sutherland's arid climate and remote location above sea level make its night skies among the world's clearest and darkest. The telescopes of the South African Astronomical Observatory are nearby at . These include the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), the largest single optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. Climate Sutherland is the coldest town in South Africa, although the farm Buffelsfontein near Molteno holds the official lowest temperature record in Continental South Africa, of . The South African Prince Edward Islands have experienced significantly lower temperatures, however, these islands have sub-Antarctic, highland climates and are located well to the southeast of mainland South Africa. Snowfall in Sutherland is common in winter, And precipitation ranges from 170mm to 300mm mostly in the form of rain. The coldest temperature recorded in Sutherland was on 12 July 2003, And the lowest Daytime temperature was recorded at -6 °C on 2 August 2012. Sutherland has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk). The climate record is sparse; the