Cape Agulhas
A rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa, and the geographic southern tip of Africa.
Last updated
The International Hydrographic Organization recognizes this location as the conventional boundary where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet.[1] Compared to the Cape of Good Hope, this cape is situated 55 km (half a degree of latitude) further to the south.[1]
Last updated 2026-09-28 from the source article.
Quick Facts
- Location
- South Africa
- Coordinates
- approximately 55 km (34 mi) south of the Cape of Good Hope
- Named by
- Portuguese navigators
- Name meaning
- Cape of Needles (Portuguese: Cabo das Agulhas)
- Climate
- Warm Mediterranean (Köppen Csb)
Facts from the source article.
Biology and range
A 2014 news report described a great white shark caught off Cape Agulhas that measured 6 meters and weighed two tons.[2] The area has a warm Mediterranean climate, with mild temperatures and no extremes.[3] The coast is littered with shipwrecks, including the Arniston (1815) and several others.[4] The Agulhas Bank, with its relatively shallow waters, is considered one of South Africa's premier fishing locations.[5]
South African National Parks report that annual precipitation here measures between 400 and 600 mm, with the majority falling during winter.[3] Winter storms and rogue waves that can reach heights of 30 meters make the ocean near this cape particularly dangerous.[6] Because of these dangers, sailors have long considered this cape a hazardous area.[4]
What the specialist sources record
A 2014 news article by Murray Williams reported that a shark catch off Cape Agulhas possibly set a new world angling record.[2] The same article noted that a UK angler caught a 6m, two-ton great white shark there on March 25.[2] Patricia Seed's account states that Portuguese navigators discovered the coincidence of magnetic and true north at this location around 1500.[7] They named it "Cape of the Needles" because compass needles pointed to true north there.[7]
Seed notes that a 1516 map clearly marks Cape Agulhas with the compass needle pointing due north.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Cape Agulhas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Limits of Oceans and Seas . International Hydrographic Organization Special Publication No. 23, 1953. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Murray Williams, "Fury over great white shark haul", 12 April 2014. facts only, no text reused. iol.co.za
- Wikipedia, "Cape Agulhas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Agulhas National Park" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Cape Agulhas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Marine Casualty Database Southern African Coast (copy at the Internet Archive), from NCS Cape Town; "History: Proposals for a Lighthouse at L'Agulhas", L'Agulhas web site, 29 July 2005 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Cape Agulhas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Murray Williams, "Fury over great white shark haul", 12 April 2014; Cacutt, "The Big-Game Fishing Handbook", 2000, p. 145–157 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Cape Agulhas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Rogue Waves – Monsters of the deep: Huge, freak waves may not be as rare as once thought", Economist Magazine, September 17, 2009; "Visiting the southernmost point in Africa", Villa Tuscana Travel Blog (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Patricia Seed: Discovery of the Coincidence of Magnetic and True North. facts only, no text reused. ruf.rice.edu
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Cape Agulhas (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Cape Agulhas (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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