False Bay () 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. The mouth of the bay faces south and is demarcated by Cape Point to the west and Cape Hangklip to the east. The north side of the bay is the low-lying Cape Flats, and the east side is the foot of the Hottentots Holland Mountains to Cape Hangklip, which is at nearly the same latitude as Cape Point. The bay is approximately square, with roughly the same length from north to south as from east to west, and the southern side open to the ocean. The seabed generally slopes gradually down from north to south, and is mostly fairly flat unconsolidated sediments. Much of the bay is off the coast of the City of Cape Town, and it includes part of the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area and the whole of the Helderberg Marine Protected Area. The name "False Bay" was applied at least 300 years ago by sailors returning from the east, who confused Cape Point and Cape Hangklip, which are somewhat similar in profile when approached from the southeast.
False Bay is at the extreme western end of the inshore Agulhas marine ecoregion, which extends from Cape Point to the Mbashe river over the continental shelf, in the overlap zone between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point, where the warm Agulhas Current and the cooler South Atlantic waters mix. The continental shelf is at its widest in this ecoregion, extending up to offshore on the Agulhas Bank, but is considerably narrower off False Bay. This ecoregion has the highest number of South African marine endemics and is a breeding area for many species. 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.
Description and location
The western side is bordered by the Cape Peninsula, and this stretch of coastline includes the smaller Buffels Bay, Smitswinkel Bay, Simon's Bay, and Fish Hoek Bay. At Muizenberg, the coastline becomes relatively low and sandy and curves east across the southern boundary of the Cape Flats to Gordon's Bay, to form the northern boundary of False Bay. From Gordon's Bay, the coastline swings roughly south and zigzags along the foot of the Hottentots Holland Mountains to Cape Hangklip, which is at nearly the same latitude as Cape Point. The highest peak on this side is Kogelberg at .
The bay is approximately square-shaped with wobbly edges, with roughly the same length from north to south as from east to west (), with the entire southern side open to the ocean. The area of False Bay has been measured at about , and the volume is approximately (with an average depth of about ). The land perimeter has been measured from a 1:50,000-scale map at .
The eastern and western shores of the bay are very rocky and even mountainous; in places, large cliffs plunge into the water. Notable peaks associated with the bay include Koeëlberg (), which rises from the water itself and forms the highest point of the Kogelberg, as well as Somerset Sneeukop () and Wemmershoek Peak (), which are clearly visible across the bay. Some of the highest peaks visible across False Bay include Du Toits Peak near Paarl (), Klein Winterhoek Peak near Tulbagh (), Mostertshoek Peak at the Western extreme of the Michell's Pass () and Groot Winterhoek Peak North of Tulbagh (). The northern shore is defined by a very long, curving, sandy beach. This sandy northern perimeter of the bay marks the southern edge of the Cape Flats. The bay is wide at its widest point.GoogleEarth
Suburbs of Cape Town stretch right across the Cape Flats, from Simon's Town halfway down the Cape Peninsula to the north-eastern corner at Gordon's Bay. There are also two small towns of the Overberg region on the east coast of the bay, Rooiels and Pringle Bay.
Coastal landmarks The coastal landmarks visible from offshore in False Bay, listed clockwise from Cape Point to Cape Hangklip, are:
Cape Point, , the south-westernmost point of the bay, marked by the current lighthouse and the original lighthouse, Vasco da Gama Peak (266m), , the highest point nearest the mouth of the bay on the Cape Peninsula, Rooikrans, , A cliff area with a small sea cave, Matrooskop (109m), , a small local peak inshore of Buffels Bay, Buffels Bay, , a small bay on the west side of False Bay, with a small craft slipway, Bordjiesrif, , a small, low sandstone promontory on the north side of Buffels Bay, Paulsberg (369m), Judas Peak (319m), , the peak above the cliffs to the immediate south of Smitswinkel Bay, Batsata Rock, , an exposed inshore granite rock below Judas Peak near the northern boundary of the Paulsberg restricted zone, and the southern limit of Smitswinkel Bay, Smitswinkel Bay, , a small bay on the west side of False Bay, with a few coastal houses, Baboon Rock, , a landmark indicating the southern extent of the Castle Rock restricted area, Partridge Point, , a granite corestone promontory with several large exposed inshore rocks extending about a hundred metres into the bay on the north side of Smitswinkel Bay, Finlay's Point, , a smaller granite corestone promontory north of Partridge Point, Castle Rocks, , a larger granite corestone promontory, comprising a massive and fairly high outcrop at the end of a small, low isthmus, with several large inshore exposed rocks south of Miller's Point, Bakoven Rock, , an exposed inshore granite rock between Castle Rocks and Miller's Point, near the northern extent of the Castle Rocks restricted area, Rumbly Bay, , a small cove with a small craft slipway on the south side of Miller's Point, Miller's Point, , a fairly large but low granite corestone promontory, with a small craft slipway on the northwest side, and several exposed and drying rocks extending to seaward, Spaniard Rock, , an inshore exposed granite rock off Rocklands Point, Rocklands Point, , a minor granite promontory north of Miller's Point, Swartkop (679m), , the highest point on the Southern Peninsula, Simonsberg (548m), , the peak above Simon's Town, Oatlands Point, , a minor granite promontory with a large inshore exposed rock and a shoreline navigation beacon, Fishermans Beach, , a short, sandy beach north of Oatlands Point, Froggy Pond, , a small cove with a small sandy beach north of Fishermans Beach separated by a low rocky promontory, Windmill Beach, , a small sandy beach partly enclosed by massive granite boulders, with two small coves, Noah's Ark rock, , a conspicuous inshore exposed rock at the mouth of Simon's Bay, Simon's Bay, , the largest bay on the west side of False Bay, very well protected from the prevailing south westerly swell, but fairly exposed to wind and waves from the south-east, Boulders Beach, Seaforth, , a sandy beach between large scattered granite boulders, Simon's Town Naval Base harbour, , an artificial harbour with breakwater and sea-walls enclosing the naval dockyard, False Bay Yacht Club moorings, , a floating marina protected from the south-easterly wind and waves by the naval harbour, with somewhat less protected open moorings further into the bay, Long Beach, , a sandy beach on the west side of Simon's Bay, usually in the lee of the harbour for south easterly winds, Roman Rock, , an exposed rock in Simon's Bay with a lighthouse on it, Mackerel Bay, , a small sandy beach north of Simon's Town, Glencairn, , a small residential suburb in a valley north of Simon's Town, with a beach in Elsebaai, Elsebaai, , a small bay in the north part of Simon's Bay, Glencairn quarry, , a conspicuous excavation in the side of Else Peak, Else Peak (303m), , a small peak between Simon's Town and Fish Hoek, Fish Hoek bay, , the northernmost minor bay of the west side of False Bay with a sandy beach open to the sea, Sunny Cove, , the rocky sandstone coastline on the south side of Fish Hoek bay, Fish Hoek beach, , a sandy beach on the east side of the Fish Hoek–Noordhoek gap, a low-lying break in the mountain range of the peninsula between False Bay and the Atlantic coast. Trappieskop, , the hill above Kalk Bay, Kalk Bay harbour, , a small commercial fishing harbour in Kalk Bay, completely enclosing the tiny sandy beach, St James, , the suburb to the north of Kalk Bay, Kalkbaaiberg (517m), , the peak above Kalk Bay, Muizenberg (509m), , the peak to the west of Muizenberg suburb, and the northernmost peak directly overlooking the west side of False Bay, Muizenberg beach (Sunrise Beach), , a long sandy beach along the low-lying northwestern coast of False Bay, Kapteinsklip, , a low rocky promontory between Muizenberg and Strandfontein beaches, Strandfontein, , Wolfgat Nature Reserve, , a small coastal nature reserve on the north coast of the bay, Swartklip, , Monwabisi, , a resort area on the north coast of the bay, Macassar Beach, , a long stretch of sand beach on the north coast of the bay, Eerste River mouth, , the mouth of the largest river crossing the Cape Flats, Helderberg Marine Protected Area, , a small coastal marine protected area between the mouths of the Eerste and Lourens rivers, Lourens River mouth, , the mouth of the river flowing through Somerset West and Strand, Strand Beach, , a sandy shoreline along the coast of the suburb, becoming rocky to the east, Harbour Island marina, , a small craft harbour development on the north-eastern coast of the bay, Gordon's Bay beach, , a small sandy beach in the north-eastern corner of the bay, Gordon's Bay Harbour, , a small fishing harbour and marina, Steenbras River mouth, , mouth of a river with catchment to the east of the Hottentots Holland range, Boskloof Peak (648m), , mountain peak south of the Steenbras River mouth, Boskloof Point, , promontory south of the Steenbras River mouth, Kogelbaai, , a fairly long sandy beach on the east coast of the bay, Kogelberg, , a mountain peak above Kogelbaai, Rooielsberg (638m), , a peak above the point to the north of Rooi-Els, Rooi-Els River mouth, , the mouth of the Rooi-Els river at a small sandy beach in Rooi-Els bay, The Point (Rooi-Els), , Klein Hangklip (309m), , a small peak overlooking Rooi-Els, Rooi-Els, , a small coastal residential area in the Overberg district, Pringle Bay, , A small, shallow bay on the south-east side of False Bay, which has a small sandy beach on the east and a rocky coastline to the south, with a small residential town along the shore, Buffels River mouth, , the mouth of a small river, draining into Pringle Bay, Die Punt (Pringle Bay), , The point to the south of Pringle Bay, Pringle Peak (159m), , Peak at Pringle Bay, Hangklip (455m), , peak at the south eastern extreme of False Bay, with near vertical profile on the south side, Cape Hangklip, , a low promontory extending southwards below Hangklip Peak,
Bottom morphology
The bottom morphology of False Bay is generally smooth and fairly shallow, sloping gently downwards at about 3 m per km from north to south, so that the depth at the centre of the mouth is about . The bottom is covered with sediment, ranging from very coarse to very fine, with most of the fine sediment and mud in the center of the bay. The main exception is a long ridge of sedimentary rock that extends southward from off the Strand to approximately level with the mouth of the Steenbras River. The southern tip of this ridge is known as Steenbras Deep.