L'Agulhas

This article is about the town. For other uses, see Agulhas (disambiguation).

L'Agulhas Agulhas
View over L'Agulhas View over L'Agulhas
L'Agulhas  L'Agulhas shown within Western Cape
Coordinates:
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
District	Overberg
Municipality	Cape Agulhas
Established	{{#property:P571}}
Area
• Total	7.49 km2 (2.89 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	548
• Density	73/km2 (190/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	7.1%
• Coloured	4.6%
• Indian/Asian	0.2%
• White	86.3%
• Other	1.8%
First languages (2011)
• Afrikaans	80.7%
• English	17.0%
• Other	2.3%
Postal code (street)	7287
Area code	028

L'Agulhas (or Agulhas) is a coastal village and holiday resort in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Located just north of Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of the African mainland, it is the southernmost settlement in Africa. It is situated next to the town of Struisbaai and about 30 kilometres (20 mi) south of the regional centre of Bredasdorp. The name "Agulhas", Portuguese for "needles", is said to have been given to the cape because the compass-needle was seen to point due north, that is, with no magnetic deviation. The Agulhas Bank is reputed to be the richest fishing area in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Agulhas Lighthouse

Post box at Cape Agulhas, the most southern post box in Africa.

The Agulhas Lighthouse, the second-oldest working in South Africa. Designed by Colonel Charles Cornwell Michell in homage of the Pharos of Alexandria, the lighthouse was lit on March 1st 1849. in the country, is at the southern end of the town. Some 150 ships lay scattered along the South African coast, many due to the treacherous Agulhas Reef. It is in memory of the countless lives lost and to warn passing ships of the pending danger that the Agulhas Lighthouse was designed and built. The lighthouse was declared a National Monument in 1973.

Geography

Climate

L'Agulhas has a mild semi-arid climate (BSh, according to the Köppen climate classification, sometimes written BSn). 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.

L'Agulhas
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     10     25 15     11     25 15     17     24 14     28     22 12     32     20 9     35     18 7     36     17 7     33     17 7     23     19 8     23     20 10     18     22 12     10     24 14 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: SA Explorer
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.4     77 59     0.4     77 59     0.7     75 57     1.1     72 54     1.3     68 48     1.4     64 45     1.4     63 45     1.3     63 45     0.9     66 46     0.9     68 50     0.7     72 54     0.4     75 57 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Another source gives different data, showing that it has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb), with most precipitation falling in June.

Climate data for L'Agulhas
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	24 (75)	23.8 (74.8)	22.7 (72.9)	20.9 (69.6)	19.3 (66.7)	18 (64)	16.9 (62.4)	17.1 (62.8)	17.9 (64.2)	19.2 (66.6)	21.1 (70)	23 (73)	20.33 (68.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	20.6 (69.1)	20.5 (68.9)	19.6 (67.3)	17.7 (63.9)	15.8 (60.4)	14.5 (58.1)	13.6 (56.5)	13.8 (56.8)	14.6 (58.3)	16 (61)	17.8 (64)	19.5 (67.1)	17 (62.62)
Average low °C (°F)	17.3 (63.1)	17.3 (63.1)	16.5 (61.7)	14.5 (58.1)	12.3 (54.1)	11 (52)	10.3 (50.5)	10.5 (50.9)	11.4 (52.5)	12.9 (55.2)	14.6 (58.3)	16.1 (61)	13.73 (56.71)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	17 (0.67)	23 (0.91)	27 (1.06)	63 (2.48)	63 (2.48)	69 (2.72)	64 (2.52)	56 (2.2)	41 (1.61)	40 (1.57)	30 (1.18)	24 (0.94)	517 (20.34)
Source: Climate-Data.org

See also

• Cape Agulhas
• Agulhas National Park

References

• L'Agulhas