A marker at Cape Agulhas indicates the official dividing line between the
Atlantic and
Indian oceans.
(, from "Cape of Needles") is on the geographic
southern tip of
Africa, and the official dividing point between the
Atlantic and
Indian oceans. Historically, the cape has been known to sailors as a major hazard on the traditional
clipper route and is sometimes regarded as one of the
great capes. It was most commonly known in English as
Cape L'Agullas until the 20th century. The town of
L'Agulhas is located near to the cape.
Geography
Panorama from the lighthouse around the cape
Cape Agulhas is the
southernmost point in the continent of
Africa. It is located at in the
Overberg region, 170 kilometres (105 mi) southeast of
Cape Town. The cape was named by
Portuguese navigators, who called it
Cabo das Agulhas —
Portuguese for "Cape of Needles" — after noticing that around the year 1500 the direction of
magnetic north coincided with
true north in the region. The cape is within the
Cape Agulhas Local Municipality in the
Overberg District of the
Western Cape province of
South Africa.
[ official home page]The cape is defined by the
International Hydrographic Organization to be the official dividing point between the
Indian and
Atlantic oceans.
[ (p.22). International Hydrographic Organization Special Publication No. 23, 1953.]South of Cape Agulhas the warm
Agulhas Current that flows south along the east coast of Africa retroflects back into the Indian Ocean. While retroflecting, it pinches off large ocean eddies (Agulhas rings) that drift into the South Atlantic Ocean and take enormous amounts of heat and salt into the neighboring ocean. This mechanism constitutes one of the key elements in the global
conveyor belt circulation of heat and salt.
Unlike its better-known relative, the
Cape of Good Hope, Cape Agulhas is relatively unspectacular, consisting of a gradually curving coastline with a rocky beach. A survey marker indicates the location of the cape, which would otherwise be difficult to identify. The waters near the coast are quite shallow and are renowned as one of the best fishing grounds in
South Africa.
The rocks that form Cape Agulhas belong to the Table Mountain Group, often loosely termed the Table Mountain sandstone. They are closely linked to the geological formations that are exposed in the spectacular cliffs of
Table Mountain,
Cape Point, and the Cape of Good Hope.
The climate is extremely mild, with no temperature or rainfall extremes. The average rainfall is 500mm per annum, mostly received in winter (unverified, as closest data is from
Bredasdorp). Temperature climate data is available for Cape Agulhas, averages are:
- Jan max: 23,8°C (min: 17,7°C); Jul max: 16,5°C (min: 10,8°C)
Shipping hazards
The lighthouse at Cape Agulhas has guided many ships around the cape over the years.
The sea off Cape Agulhas is notorious for winter storms and mammoth
rogue waves, which can range up to 30 metres (100
ft) high and can sink even large ships. These conditions are caused by a number of factors. The naturally strong winds of the
roaring forties, which blow from west to east, and the cold
Antarctic Circumpolar Current flowing in the same direction, come up against the warmer
Agulhas Current in the region of the cape. These conflicting currents of water of different densities, and the west winds blowing against the Agulhas Current, can create extremely hazardous wave conditions; these are further exacerbated by the shallow waters of the
Agulhas Bank, a broad, shallow part of the
continental shelf which juts 250 kilometres (155 mi) south from the cape, after which it falls steeply away to the
abyssal plain.
These hazards have combined to make the cape notorious among sailors. The coast here is littered with wrecks:
Arniston (1815),
Cooranga (1964),
Elise (1879),
European (1877),
Federal Lakes (1975),
Geortyrder (1849),
Gouritz (1981), and
Gwendola (1968) are just a few of the vessels lost in the proximity of the "Cape of Needles."
[ (copy at the Internet Archive), from NCS Cape Town] Owing to the hazards and following the loss of several vessels, notably the
Arniston, a lighthouse was built in 1848, this being only the second one to be built in the country. The lighthouse now holds a museum and a small rustic restaurant.
View over Agulhas from the lighthouse
See also
