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Photo: Dewet, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The lighthouse was built to aid the early explorers on their passage of the rough seas off Cape Agulhas. 71 steps lead up to the top of the second oldest working lighthouse in southern Africa. Stone mined from the adjacent limestone quarry provided the raw materials for its construction. The building also houses a unique lighthouse museum. Remains of ancient stone fish traps used by the Khoisan people can be seen to the east of the lighthouse.
The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse is at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. At 171 years old, it is the third-built lighthouse in South Africa, and the second-oldest still operating, after Green Point. It is located on the southern edge of the village of L'Agulhas, in the Agulhas National Park; the light is operated by Transnet National Ports Authority. In 2016, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) identified the lighthouse as a deserving prominent historic engineering project and International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
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