St Lucia
St Lucia Show map of KwaZulu-Natal St Lucia Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 28°22′59″S 32°25′01″E / 28.383°S 32.417°E / -28.383; 32.417
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
District	Umkhanyakude
Municipality	Mtubatuba
Area [1]
• Total	2.68 km2 (1.03 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Total	1,104
• Density	410/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2022) [1]
• Black African	21.0%
• Coloured	3.8%
• Indian/Asian	2.1%
• White	72.3%
• Other	0.8%
First languages (2022) [1]
• Afrikaans	47.2%
• English	41.9%
• Zulu	11.4%
• Other	1.5%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
PO box	3936
Area code	035

St Lucia is a settlement in Umkhanyakude District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The small town is mainly a hub for the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.^[2]

History

Evidence of early humans living in the caves up high in the Lebombo Mountains dating back 130,000 years ago provided scientists with clues regarding the lifestyle of these prehistoric settlers. From this cave alone some 69,000 stone implements and various human remains have been recovered. Some of these tools date back to the middle and early stone ages (130,000 to 30,000 years ago).^{[citation needed]}

St Lucia was first named in 1554 as Rio dos Medos do Ouro (alternatively Rio dos Médãos do Ouro — River of the Gold Dunes)^[3][4] by the survivors of the Portuguese ship São Bento.^[5] At this stage, only the Tugela River mouth was known as St. Lucia. Later, in 1575, the Tugela River was named Tugela. On 13 December 1575, the day of the feast of Saint Lucy, Manuel Peresterello renamed the mouth area to Santa Lucia.

In 1822, St Lucia was proclaimed by the British as a township. In 1895, St Lucia Game Reserve, 30 km north of the town, was proclaimed. Since 1971, St Lucia Lake and the turtle beaches and coral reefs of Maputaland have been listed by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention). In December 1999, the park was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Synthpop band St. Lucia is named after the town.^[6]

Demographics

The largest ethnic group in St Lucia are White South Africans of English descent who make up 30.9% of St Lucia residents. The second largest ethnic group in St. Lucia are Zulu people, who make up 26.4% of St Lucia residents.^[7]

Animals in the park

The park is also home to about 1,200 Nile Crocodiles and almost 800 hippopotamuses.^{[citation needed]} Hippos often roam the streets at night.^[8]

Other animals include leopards, Greater Kudu, Black Rhinos, rich avifauna and numerous invertebrates.^[9][10]

Climate

Under Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, it has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa).^[11]