page_title: Agulhas Bank
section_title: Agulhas Current
hierarchical_section_title: Agulhas Bank / Oceanography / Agulhas Current
caption_attribution_description: Snapshot of the Agulhas Current.
context_page_description: The Agulhas Bank is a broad, shallow part of the southern African continental shelf which extends up to 250 km south of Cape Agulhas before falling steeply to the abyssal plain.
  It is the ocean region where the warm Indian Ocean and the cold Atlantic Ocean meet. This convergence leads to treacherous sailing conditions, accounting for numerous wrecked ships in the area over the years. However, the meeting of the oceans here also fuels the nutrient cycle for marine life, making it one of the best fishing grounds in South Africa.
context_section_description: The Agulhas Current flows south along the African east-coast and along the south-eastern edge of the bank.  It then retroflects back into the Indian Ocean south-west of the bank.  This retroflection results in intense eddy activities such as meanders, eddies, and filaments.
  In upper layer water, the Agulhas rings and eddies move warm and salty water into the large South Atlantic gyre, which exports it to the tropics.  In the lower ocean layers water is transported in the opposite direction.
caption: Eddies of the Agulhas Current meanders past the Agulhas Bank leaking warm and salty water into the South Atlantic before retroflecting back into the Indian Ocean
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