town in the Western Cape, South Africa
Saldanha, also known as Saldanha Bay, is a town of 28,000 people (2011), on the northern shore of Saldanha Bay, on West Coast of the Western Cape province. Saldanha Bay's location makes it a paradise for the watersport enthusiast.
The town has a naturally sheltered harbour, which led to the development of a port for exporting iron ore from Sishen in the Northern Cape. The ore is brought to the town from the mine on the Sishen–Saldanha railway line. The port is one of the largest exporting ports of ore in Africa.
Its local economy is strongly dependent on fishing, mussels, seafood processing, the steel industry and the harbour.
Saldanha Bay is named after António de Saldanha, captain of a vessel in the fleet of Portuguese admiral Alfonso de Albuquerque, which visited South Africa in 1503.
It is 145 km (90 mi) north of Cape Town on R27, and 19 km north of Langebaan.