With a coastline of 3000kms, South Africa lies between the warm Agulhas Current on the east coast and the cold Benguela Current on the west coast. Additional oceanic influences are pushed northwards onto our shores by the cold currents from the Southern Oceans.
The South African marine environment, without a doubt, is one of the most stunning and most diverse in the world and there have been over 12500 species recorded within its waters of which at least a third of these are endemic.
1 of 12: Purple tinged clouds herald dusk over the exposed intertidal rock flats of the De Hoop Marine Protected Area, Western Cape, South Africa
2 of 12: An aerial view of the white sand dunes that line sections of the coastline along the De Hoop Marine Protected Area, Western Cape, South Africa
3 of 12: Waves push ashore over the beachhead during a heavy winters storm. Goukamma Marine Protected Area, Western Cape, South Africa
4 of 12: Jagged rocky shoreline at dawn, Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area, Garden Route National Park, Eastern Cape, South Africa
5 of 12: Sun rise over the sandstone platforms of the De Hoop Marine Protected Area, Western Cape, South Africa
6 of 12: Dawn over the rocky platforms of the Dwesa-Cwebe Marine Protected Area, Eastern Cape, South Africa
7 of 12: Aerial view of an Isolated farmstead along the coastline with green mountains in the background. Agulhas National Park, Western Cape, South Africa
8 of 12: Aerial view of the Langebaan Lagoon and salt marshes and also showing the sixteen mile beach within the West Coast National Park, Western Cape, South Africa
9 of 12: Dusk at an estuary mouth along the Dwesa-Cwebe Marine Protected Area, Eastern Cape, South Africa
10 of 12: Severe winters storm lashing the southern tip of Africa's coastline, Agulhas National Park, Western Cape, South Africa
11 of 12: Ship wreck being battered during a winters storm, Agulhas National Park, Western Cape, South Africa
12 of 12: Sunrise over a tranquil sea, Struisbaai, Western Cape, South Africa
Visit African Conservation Photography for a full gallery of Coastline images.
