Historically, the cape has been known to sailors as a significant hazard on the traditionalclipper route. It is sometimes regarded as one of thegreat capes. It was most commonly known in English asCape L'Agulhas until the 20th century. The town ofL'Agulhas is near the cape.
South of Cape Agulhas, the warmAgulhas Current, which 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, carrying enormous amounts of heat and salt into the neighbouring ocean. This mechanism constitutes one of the key elements in the globalconveyor belt circulation of heat and salt.
Cape Agulhas has a gradually curving coastline with rocky and sandy beaches. A survey marker and a new marker depicting the African continent are located at the southernmost tip of Africa. The waters of theAgulhas Bank off the coast are relatively shallow and are renowned as one of the best fishing grounds in South Africa.[4][5]
The rocks that form Cape Agulhas belong to theTable Mountain Group, often loosely referred to as 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 theCape of Good Hope.
Cape Agulhas has a warmMediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification:Csb). The climate is consistently mild, with no temperature or rainfall extremes. According toSouth African National Parks, who administer the nature reserve, the average rainfall is 400–600 mm per annum, mostly received in winter.[6] Temperature climate data is available for Cape Agulhas, averages are:
The sea off Cape Agulhas is notorious for winter storms and mammothrogue waves, which can range up to 30 metres (100 ft) high and can sink even large ships.[10] Over the past few hundred years, it has been believed that around 150 ships have sunk around Agulhas.[11] These conditions are caused by a number of factors. The naturally strong winds of theRoaring Forties, which blow from west to east, and the coldAntarctic Circumpolar Current flowing in the same direction, come up against the warmerAgulhas 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 theAgulhas Bank, a broad, shallow part of thecontinental shelf which extends up to 250 kilometres (155 mi) south from the cape, after which it falls steeply away to theabyssal plain.
These hazards have combined to make the cape notorious among sailors. The coast here is littered with wrecks:Arniston (1815),Geortyrder (1849),Elise (1879),Cooranga (1964),Gwendola (1968),Federal Lakes (1975), andGouritz (1981), but these are just a few of the vessels lost in the proximity of the "Cape of Needles".[12] Owing to the hazards and following the loss of several vessels, notably theArniston,a lighthouse was built in 1848.[13] The lighthouse now plays host to a museum and a small rustic restaurant.
