What is False Bay known for?
This stretch of Western Cape coastline is famous for its marine residents, such as sharks, seals and the occasional visit from orca duo Port and Starboard but the origin of its name is not as well-known. Bartolomeu Diaz initially described False Bay as the ‘gulf between mountains’ in 1488.
Why is it called False Bay?
The false bay owes its name to the erroneous beliefs of sailors at the time of the first circumnavigation of Africa, whose disappointment was great when they realized they had not yet circumnavigated the Cape and thus had not reached Cape Town.
How was False Bay formed?
During glacial periods the sea level dropped to expose the bottom of False Bay to weathering and erosion. The last major regression leaving the entire bottom of False Bay exposed. During this period an extensive system of dunes was formed on the sandy floor of False Bay.
Can you swim in False Bay?
The ocean water in False Bay (on the eastern side of the peninsula) is around 5-8°C warmer than the ocean water along the Atlantic Seaboard (on the western side of the peninsula). This makes swimming possible all year round.
Are there sharks in False Bay?
Now, other than a few sporadic sightings, white sharks have vanished from Gansbaai and False Bay, both hotspots for the iconic, mysterious species and lucrative shark ecotourism. “My research partner [marine biologist] Mary Rowlinson, is happy when she sees two or three great whites in Gansbaai,” Andreotti says.
Why is False Bay water warmer?
False Bay is exposed to southeasterly winds in summer and its waters are approximately 6 °C warmer than those of Table Bay, owing to the influence of the warm Agulhas Current.
How deep is the water in False Bay?
The area of False Bay has been measured at about 1,090 km2, and the volume is approximately 45 km3 (average depth about 40 m).
How cold is the water in False Bay?
The average water temperature in False Bay in winter reaches 15°C, in spring 16°C, in summer the average temperature rises to 19°C, and in autumn it is 17°C.
Has anyone swam across False Bay?
Stramrood, who is well-known for his creative and extreme swimming challenges, swam 33km across False Bay in the fastest time of 8 hours 39 minutes, beating the previous record of 9 hours and 17minutes set by by Barend Nortjie in March 2007.
What is the water temperature in False Bay?
The northern half of the bay exhibits SST ranging from 13.4 °C to 21.4 °C at a monthly scale over the past 11 years whereas the southern half of the bay has values ranging from 13.3 °C to 20.6 °C.
Where is the most shark attacks in South Africa?
SOUTH AFRICA STATS Since records started for South Africa in 1905, there have been a total of 248 unprovoked attacks in South Africa. Of these most of them (103) have occurred in the Eastern Cape, 90 in KZN and 55 in the Western Cape.
Are there great white sharks in Cape Town?
For years, one of South Africa’s great tourist attractions has been the opportunity to see, up close, one of the world’s most fearsome predators – the great white shark. But barely a single one has been spotted off the coast of Cape Town for two years now – where there used to be hundreds.
Where is False Bay in South Africa located?
False Bay (Afrikaans Valsbaai) is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa.
How did the False Bay get its name?
The false bay owes its name to the erroneous beliefs of sailors at the time of the first circumnavigation of Africa, whose disappointment was great when they realized they had not yet circumnavigated the Cape and thus had not reached Cape Town. The False Bay is about 41 km wide and is falsely often assigned to the Indian Ocean.
Where are the naval bases in False Bay?
The transition between the Agulhas ecoregion and the cooler Benguela ecoregion is at Cape Point, on the western boundary of False Bay. False Bay also contains South Africa’s largest naval base at Simon’s Town (historically a base for the Royal Navy ), and small fishing harbours at Kalk Bay and Gordon’s Bay
What kind of animals live in False Bay?
False Bay, in Cape Town, South Africa is well known for its Great White Sharks, Southern Right Whales and large seal colonies. It is less well known for the occasional Orca pod entering the bay to hunt dolphin, seals and game fish.