Cape Agulhas, a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa, marks the geographic southern tip of Africa and the beginning of the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans according to the International Hydrographic Organization. It is located in the Overberg region, 170 kilometres (105 mi) southeast of Cape Town.
Signpost at Cape Agulhas marking the southernmost tip of Africa.
Historical Significance
Historically, the cape has been known to sailors as a major hazard on the traditional clipper route. It is sometimes regarded as one of the great capes. It was most commonly known in English as Cape L'Agulhas until the 20th century.
Early Exploration and Navigation
Eudoxus of Cyzicus (fl. c. 130 BC) was a Greek navigator for Ptolemy VIII, king of the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. When Eudoxus was returning from his second voyage to India, the wind forced him south of the Gulf of Aden and down the coast of Africa for some distance. Somewhere along the coast of East Africa, he found the remains of the ship. This inspired him to repeat the voyage and attempt a circumnavigation of the continent.
In the 1450 Fra Mauro map, the Indian Ocean is depicted as connected to the Atlantic. Fra Mauro also comments that the account of the expedition, together with the relation by Strabo of the travels of Eudoxus of Cyzicus from Arabia to Gibraltar through the southern Ocean in Antiquity, led him to believe that the Indian Ocean was not a closed sea and that Africa could be circumnavigated by her southern end.
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In 1511, after Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Malacca, the Portuguese recovered a chart from a Javanese maritime pilot, which, according to Albuquerque, already included the Cape of Good Hope.
The Khoikhoi people lived in the cape area when the Dutch first settled there in 1652. In 1652, the Dutch East India Company's administrator Jan van Riebeeck established a resupply camp for the Dutch East India Company some 50 km north of the cape in Table Bay on April 6, and this eventually developed into Cape Town. On 31 December 1687, a community of Huguenots (French Protestants) arrived at the Cape of Good Hope from the Netherlands. During the French Revolutionary Wars, the Dutch Republic was occupied by the French in 1795. British troops invaded and occupied the Cape Colony that same year.
The Portuguese government erected two navigational beacons, Dias Cross and da Gama Cross, to commemorate Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama, who were the first modern European explorers to reach the cape.
Geographical Features and Climate
Cape Agulhas has a gradually curving coastline with rocky and sand beaches. A survey marker and a new marker depicting the African continent are located at the most southern tip of Africa. The rocks that form Cape Agulhas belong to the Table Mountain Group, often loosely termed the Table Mountain sandstone.
Table Mountain, predominantly made of sandstone, is a geological feature similar to the rocks found at Cape Agulhas.
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Cape Agulhas has a warm Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csb). The climate is consistently mild, with no temperature or rainfall extremes.
Ocean Currents and Maritime Hazards
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 neighbouring ocean.
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. Over the past few hundred years it has been believed that around 150 ships have sunk around Agulhas. 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 hazards have combined to make the cape notorious among sailors.
Rogue waves, like this one off the Draupner oil platform, are a significant hazard near Cape Agulhas.
Meeting Point of Oceans
One of the most remarkable features of Cape Agulhas is the official meeting point of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Contrary to popular belief, the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans is not actually at the Cape of Good Hope (Cape Point), but rather at a location further east, in Cape Agulhas. In recent years, Cape Point has started advertising itself as the ‘most south-western point in Africa’ in an effort to avoid further miscommunication or disappointment.
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The cape’s meridian (20° E) is the official boundary between the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
Wildlife and Ecology
The Cape of Good Hope is an integral part of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, the smallest but richest of the world's six floral kingdoms. This comprises a treasure trove of 1100 species of indigenous plants, of which a number are endemic (occur naturally nowhere else on earth). The main type of fynbos ("fine bush") vegetation at the Cape of Good Hope is Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos, an endangered vegetation type that is endemic to the Cape Peninsula. Characteristic fynbos plants include proteas, ericas (heath), and restios (reeds). Some of the most striking and well-known members belong to the Proteaceae family, of which up to 24 species occur.
With its diverse habitat, ranging from rocky mountain tops to beaches and open sea, the Cape of Good Hope is home to at least 250 species of birds including one of the two mainland colonies of African penguins. The Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park is home to several species of antelope. Bontebok and eland are easily seen, and red hartebeest can be seen in the grazing lawns in Smitswinkel Flats. Grey rhebok are less commonly seen and are scarce, but may be observed along the beach hills at Olifantsbos. Most visitors are unlikely to ever see either Cape grysbok or klipspringer. The Cape of Good Hope section is home to four Cape mountain zebra.
There are a wealth of small animals such as lizards, snakes, tortoises and insects. Small mammals include rock hyrax, four-striped grass mouse, water mongoose, Cape clawless otter and fallow deer. The area offers excellent vantage points for whale watching. The southern right whale is the species most likely to be seen in False Bay between June and November. Other species are the humpback whale and Bryde's whale. Seals, dusky dolphins and orcas have also been seen.
The strategic position of the Cape of Good Hope between two major ocean currents, ensures a rich diversity of marine life. There is a difference between the sea life west of Cape Point and that to the east due to the markedly differing sea temperatures.
Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) are the mammals most intimately associated with the Cape of Good Hope. Baboons inside the Cape of Good Hope section of the park are a major tourist attraction. There are 11 troops consisting of about 375 individuals throughout the entire Cape Peninsula. Six of these 11 troops either live entirely within the Cape of Good Hope section of the park, or use the section as part of their range.
However, the South African Parks Department states in its publication Mountains in the Sea that the baboon population on the Cape is "critically endangered." This is due to habitat loss, genetic isolation, and conflicts with humans. Cape baboons have been eliminated from the majority of their range across the Cape Peninsula, and the Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park provides a sanctuary for the troops that live within its boundaries.
A Chacma Baboon at Cape Point, a common sight in the region.
It provides relative safety from nearby towns, where people have killed many baboons after the baboons raid their houses looking for food.
Visiting Cape Agulhas
Visiting the Tip of Africa at Cape Agulhas is a must-do Western Cape experience. The Tip of Africa is surrounded by the Agulhas National Park, a natural wonderland of fynbos flora, bird life, and native coastal species. With two ocean currents and a shallow sea bank, Cape Agulhas and Struisbaai boast some of the best fishing spots in the world.
Cape Agulhas is a must-see destination for travel enthusiasts wishing to see the two oceans meet, stand at the southernmost point of the African continent, and take a picture at the official Tip of Africa monument.
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