L'Agulhas is the southernmost coastal village and holiday resort in South Africa, located within the Cape Agulhas Local Municipality at the southernmost tip of the African mainland. It is situated next to the town of Struisbaai and about 30 kilometres (20 mi) south of the regional centre of Bredasdorp. Some of the older residents and documents refer to the town as by its former name Cape Agulhas or Cape L'Agulhas or simply Agulhas which were the names that referred to this town before it was changed to L'Agulhas to avoid confusion when the Bredasdorp Municipality changed its name to The Cape Agulhas Municipality (CAM).
Etymology
Agulhas is the plural form of “agulha” in Portuguese. It is derived from the Late Latin word, “acūcula,” and the Latin word “acula,” both meaning a needle or pin. They trace back to the theorized Proto-Indo-European word “h₂eḱ.”
According to local legend, when sailing to the cape, sailors saw the compass needle point North, directly to the modern day location of L’Agulhas.
Lighthouse
The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse.Post box at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost post box in Africa.
The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse, the second-oldest working lighthouse in South Africa, is at the southern end of the town. Designed by Colonel Charles Cornwell Michell in homage to the Pharos of Alexandria, the lighthouse was lit on March 1, 1849. Some 150 ships lay scattered along the South African coast, many due to the treacherous Agulhas Reef. The lighthouse was declared a National Monument in 1973.
The wreck of the Meisho Maru near Cape Agulhas.
Geography
Climate
L'Agulhas has a mild semi-arid climate (BSk, according to the Köppen climate classification). Summers are mild and dry, winters are cool and wetter. The average annual precipitation is 276 mm (11 in), with most rainfall occurring mainly during winter.
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