Which African country contains Cape Agulhas, the continent's southernmost point?

Cape Agulhas is in South Africa and is the continent of Africa’s southernmost point.

The rocky headland lies in Western Cape, in the Overberg region, about 170 kilometres southeast of Cape Town. It is roughly 55 kilometres farther south than the Cape of Good Hope, a common source of confusion. The cape is near the town of L’Agulhas and has a survey marker identifying the geographic extreme.

Portuguese navigators called it Cabo das Agulhas, or “Cape of Needles.” Around 1500, sailors reportedly observed that magnetic north and true north nearly coincided there. Cape Agulhas also marks the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans, although the nearby currents create complicated ocean conditions.

The warm Agulhas Current flows south along Africa’s east coast before turning back into the Indian Ocean. Its interaction with shallow waters on the Agulhas Bank can produce dangerous waves, helping make the cape notorious in maritime history. The Cape of Good Hope is farther west, but it is not Africa’s southernmost point.