View source for Cape Point

{{short description|Headland in the Western Cape, South Africa}}
{{about|the promontory in South Africa|the headland in Gambia|Bakau}}
{{distinguish|Cape of Good Hope}}
{{Use South African English|date=July 2024}}
[[File:Goodhope2.jpg|thumb|300px|Cape Point in the left foreground, with the [[Cape of Good Hope]] almost right behind and some 2.3 km away]]
[[File:Cape Point, Sudáfrica, 2018-07-23, DD 109-111 PAN.jpg|thumb|300px|Looking from behind the old lighthouse (at top left) to the new lighthouse (a sunlit speck of white very near the point). The lighthouses are 700 metres apart, and the new lighthouse 162 metres lower in altitude so as to remain visible during low cloud.]]
'''Cape Point''' ({{langx|af|Kaappunt}}) is a [[promontory]] at the southeast corner of the [[Cape Peninsula]], a mountainous and scenic landform that runs north-south for about thirty kilometres at the extreme southwestern tip of the [[Africa]]n continent in [[South Africa]]. [[Table Mountain]] and the city of [[Cape Town]] are close to the northern extremity of the same peninsula. The cape is located at {{coord|34|21|26|S|18|29|51|E|display=inline,title|region:ZA_type:landmark}}, about 2.3&nbsp;kilometres (1.4&nbsp;mi) east and a little north of the [[Cape of Good Hope]] on the southwest corner.<ref>[http://sagns.dac.gov.za/intranet/ApplicationMap.asp?MapState=-34357222|18497500|40000&buttonCommand=ZoomIn&mapFromApp= Topo map of Cape Point]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot= InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}, from the South African Geographical Names System</ref>  Although these two rocky capes are very well known, neither cape is actually the southernmost point of the mainland of Africa; that is [[Cape Agulhas]], approximately {{convert|150|km}} to the [[east-southeast]].

==Peaks==
The peak above Cape Point is higher than that above the [[Cape of Good Hope]]. The rugged sandstone ([[Cape Peninsula#Geology|Table Mountain sandstone]]) ridge that rises from Cape Point at sea level develops into two peaks. There is a major peak that dominates the skyline locally, but there is also a smaller peak about 100&nbsp;m (328&nbsp;ft) further south. The higher peak has the old [[lighthouse]] on the top. The [[Flying Dutchman Funicular]] runs from a car park to the north up to slightly below the level of the old lighthouse, and a short flight of steps leads to a viewing platform around the base of the lighthouse. From the end of the railway, a second path leads to a lower peak.

==Lighthouse==
[[File:Cape Peninsula.jpg|thumb|300px|A map of the Cape Peninsula showing its major features. Cape Point is the small cape jutting out towards the east from [[The Cape of Good Hope]] at the southern end of the Peninsula. The lighthouse is on Cape Point, rather than on the Cape of Good Hope to the west.]]
The new lighthouse is at a lower elevation (87 meters; 285.5 feet above [[sea level]]), for two reasons: the old lighthouse, located at {{coord|34|21|12|S|18|29|25.2|E|type:isle_region:ZA}} (262 meters; 859.6 feet above sea level), could be seen 'too early' by ships rounding the point towards the east, causing them to approach too closely. Secondly, foggy conditions often prevail at the higher levels, making the older lighthouse invisible to shipping. On 18 April 1911, the Portuguese liner ''[[SS Lusitania|Lusitania]]'' was wrecked just south of Cape Point at {{coord|34|23|22|S|18|29|23|E|type:isle_region:ZA}} on Bellows Rock for precisely this reason, prompting the relocation of the lighthouse.

The new lighthouse, located at {{coord|34|21|26|S|18|29|49|E|type:isle_region:ZA}}, cannot be seen from the West until ships are at a safe distance to the South. The light of the new Cape Point lighthouse is the most powerful on the South African coast, with a range of {{convert|63|km|mi nmi}} and an intensity of 10 [[megacandela]]s in each flash.<ref>[http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionswc/cape-point.htm ''Cape Point Attractions: Cape Point, Cape Town, South Africa''], from South Africa Explored</ref>

==Table Mountain National Park==
Cape Point is situated within the [[Table Mountain National Park]], within a section of the park referred to as Cape of Good Hope. This section covers the whole of the southern tip of the Cape Peninsula and which takes in perhaps 20% of its total area.<ref>[http://www.sanparks.org/parks/table_mountain/tourism/map.php Map of the park, showing the Cape Point section.]</ref> The Cape of Good Hope section of the park is generally wild, unspoiled and undeveloped and is an important haven for seabirds. The vegetation at Cape Point consists primarily of [[Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos]].

==Ocean currents==
[[File:Benguela and Agulhas Currents 2.jpg|thumb|left|The courses of the warm [[Agulhas current]] (red) along the east coast of South Africa, and the cold [[Benguela current]] (blue) along the west coast. Note that the Benguela current does not originate from Antarctic waters in the South Atlantic Ocean, but from [[upwelling]] of water from the cold depths of the [[Atlantic Ocean]] against the west coast of the continent. The two currents do not "meet" anywhere along the south coast of Africa, except as random eddies from the two currents, that arise and intermingle west of [[Cape Agulhas]].]]
Cape Point is often mistakenly claimed to be the place where the cold [[Benguela Current]] of the Atlantic Ocean and the warm [[Agulhas Current]] of the Indian Ocean collide. In fact, the meeting point fluctuates along the southern and southwestern Cape coast, usually occurring between [[Cape Agulhas]] and Cape Point. The two intermingling currents help to create the [[micro-climate]] of [[Cape Town]] and its environs. Contrary to popular mythology, the meeting point of the currents produces no obvious visual effect; there is no "line in the ocean" where the sea changes colour or looks different in some way. There are, however, strong and dangerous swells, tides and localized currents around the point and in adjacent waters. These troubled seas have witnessed countless maritime disasters in the centuries since ships first sailed here.

Fishing is good along the coast but the unpredictable swells make angling from the rocks very dangerous. Over the years scores of fishermen have been swept to their deaths from the rocky platforms by freak waves. [[False Bay]], which opens to the east and north of Cape Point, is the location of the well-known naval port of [[Simon's Town]]. The bay is also famous – or infamous – for its great white sharks, which hunt the [[Cape fur seal]]s that live in the area.

==Climate research==
Cape Point is the site of one of the [[Global Atmosphere Watch]]'s atmospheric research stations. In the early years of the 20th century icebergs from [[Antarctica]] were occasionally sighted from Cape Point. There have been no authentic recent sightings of ice, which some climatologists and experts have attributed to [[global warming]].

{{clear}}

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed heights=150 style="font-size:100%; line-height:130%">
Kap-der-guten-hoffnung.JPG|The "new" lighthouse of 1919, atop Dias Point, essentially Cape Point 
Antiguo faro, Cape Point, Sudáfrica, 2018-07-23, DD 100.jpg|The old lighthouse at the top of the Cape Point promontory, in use from 1860 to 1919
Social Wikimania by Dyolf77 DSC 8851.jpg|Cape Point and the new lighthouse as seen from the west. [[False Bay]] is beyond.
Cape Point by ozgur.jpg|White surf breaks around Dias Rock, just offshore from the point
View of Cape Point at -34.3540, 18.4897.jpg|View from one of Cape Point's observation points (-34.3538, 18.4897) in Table Mountain National Park
</gallery>

== References ==
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{{Table Mountain National Park}}
{{Cape Town|natural}}

[[Category:Geography of Cape Town]]
[[Category:Headlands of the Western Cape|Point]]
[[Category:Table Mountain National Park]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Cape Town]]