The West Coast District covers approximately 31 100 km² and has a population of approximately 455 881 according to the Western Cape Socio Economic Profile 2019. The West Coast District area consists of the following five local municipalities namely: Saldanha Bay Municipality, Swartland Municipality, Bergrivier Municipality, Cederberg Municipality and Matzikama Municipality. The distance along the N7 road from the northern boundary just north of Bitterfontein, to the southern boundary, just south of Malmesbury, is approximately 375 kilometres. The north-south distance across the district is ± 350 km while the east-west distance ranges from 80 km to 110 km. The Atlantic Coastline (±350 km) is the western boundary while the eastern district boundary is defined by mountain ranges (Cederberg, Winterhoek & Koue Bokkeveld Mountains). A unique characteristic of the study area is that all five of the local municipalities include portions of coast line area along the Atlantic Ocean to the west.