Cape Agulhas

Cape Agulhas , Agulhas, Cape Dewet cape that is the southernmost point of the African continent, located 109 miles (176 km) southeast of Cape Town , S.Af. Its name, Portuguese for “needles,” may refer to the jagged rocks and reefs there that have wrecked many ships; another explanation attributes the name to observations by early Portuguese navigators that their compass needles showed no magnetic deviation there. A lighthouse was established there in 1849. The Agulhas Banks are excellent for trawling. The cape’s meridian (20° E) is the official boundary between the Indian and Atlantic oceans.