In geography, a cape is a headland, peninsula or promontory extending into a body of water, usually a sea. [1] A cape usually represents a marked change in trend of the coastline, [2] often making them important landmarks in sea navigation. This also makes them prone to natural forms of erosion, mainly tidal actions, resulting in a relatively short geological lifespan.
Capes can be formed by glaciers, volcanoes, and changes in sea level. [2] Erosion plays a large role in each of these methods of formation. [3] Coastal erosion by waves and currents can create capes by wearing away softer rock and leaving behind harder rock formations. Movements of the Earth's crust can uplift land, forming capes. For example, the Cape of Good Hope was formed by tectonic forces. Volcanic eruptions can create capes by depositing lava that solidifies into new landforms. Cape Verde, (also known as Cabo Verde) is an example of a volcanic cape. [4] Glaciers can carve out capes by eroding the landscape as they advance and retreat. Cape Cod in the United States was formed by glacial activity during the last Ice Age. [3]
Capes (and other headlands) are conspicuous visual landmarks along a coast, and sailors have relied on them for navigation since antiquity. [5] [6] The Greeks and Romans considered some to be sacred capes and erected temples to the sea god nearby.
Greek peripli describe capes and other headlands a sailor will encounter along a route. The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax , for instance, illustrates a clockwise journey around Sicily using three capes that define its triangular shape: Cape Peloro in the northeast, Cape Pachynus in the southeast, and Cape Lilybaeum in the west. [5] Sicily itself was referred to as Trinacria (or Three Capes) in antiquity. [7]
Homer's works reference a number of capes to describe journeys around the Mediterranean Sea. Menelaus, Agamemnon, and Odysseus each faced peril at the notoriously dangerous Cape Malea at the southeastern tip of the Peloponnese. Menelaus navigated via Cape Sounion on his way home from Troy, and Nestor stopped at Cape Geraestus (now Cape Mandelo) on Euboea to give offerings at the altar to Poseidon there. [6]
Cape Gelidonya (then known as Chelidonia) on the coast of Turkey served as a bearing aid for ships heading to the Egyptian port of Canopus, directly to the south. Cape Sidero on the eastern tip of Crete was a waypoint for Jason and the Argonauts returning from Libya as well as for Paul the Apostle as he traveled from Caesarea to Rome. [8]
The three great capes (Africa's Cape of Good Hope, Australia's Cape Leeuwin, and South America's Cape Horn) defined the traditional clipper route between Europe and the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. [9] They continue to be important landmarks in ocean yacht racing.
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Cape Verde is a group of arid Atlantic islands which are home to distinct communities of plants, birds, and reptiles.
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
Cape Agulhas is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the beginning of the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans according to the International Hydrographic Organization. It is approximately half a degree of latitude, or 55 kilometres (34 mi), further south than the Cape of Good Hope.
Cape Bojador is a headland on the west coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W, as well as the name of the large nearby town with a population of 42,651. The name of the surrounding province also derives its name from the cape.
A cape is a sleeveless outer garment, which drapes the wearer's back and fastens at the neck.
Ras Nouadhibou is a 60-kilometre (37 mi) peninsula or headland divided by the border between Mauritania and Western Sahara on the African coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It is internationally known as Cabo Blanco in Spanish or Cap Blanc in French.
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America, Cape Horn marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage and marks where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet.
Cabo is Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for cape. It may refer to:
Ponta da Fragata is a headland on the east coast of the island of Sal, Cape Verde. It is situated at the southern end of the Serra Negra mountain, 6 km northeast of the town Santa Maria. To the south of the headland stretches the Costa da Fragata, a 4.7 km long sandy beach which is a protected nature reserve, important as nesting area for loggerhead sea turtles. The nature reserve covers 3.46 km2 (1.34 sq mi) of land and 23.47 km2 (9.06 sq mi) of ocean.
Ponta Norte is a headland on the north coast of the island of Sal in Cape Verde. It is the northernmost point of Sal. It is approximately 11 km north of the island capital of Espargos. The lighthouse Farol da Ponta Norte is located near the cape.
Ponta Cais is a headland and the northernmost point of the island of Maio, Cape Verde. It is about 8 km north of the nearest village, Cascabulho. There is a lighthouse on the headland.
A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape. Headlands are characterised by high, breaking waves, rocky shores, intense erosion, and steep sea cliff.
Cape Verde was a colony of the Portuguese Empire from the initial settlement of the Cape Verde Islands in 1462 until the independence of Cape Verde in 1975.
Farol de Dona Maria Pia is a lighthouse at the southernmost point of the island of Santiago, Cape Verde. It stands on the headland Ponta Temerosa, at the entrance of Praia Harbour, 2 km south of the city centre of Praia. The lighthouse was built in 1881 and was named after Maria Pia of Savoy, queen of Portugal at the time. The octagonal tower is 21 m high and its focal plane is 25 m above mean sea level. It is painted white. The lighthouse is used for navigational purposes.
Ponta Moreia is the northernmost point of the island of Santiago, Cape Verde. It is about 2 km north of the nearest village, Fazenda, and around 5 km north of Tarrafal.
Ponta do Sinó is the southernmost point of the island of Sal in Cape Verde. It lies 2 km southwest of Santa Maria city centre. The area north of the headland is a protected area: nature reserve Ponta do Sinó, at the edge of a large tourism development zone. There is a lighthouse on the headland, Farol da Ponta do Sinó, built in 1892.
Ponta do Chão de Mangrade is the westernmost point of the Island of Santo Antão, and also the westernmost point of Cape Verde and all Africa. It is located 5 km northwest of Monte Trigo and 31 km west of Porto Novo, in a very remote area. The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between Portugal and Spain along a meridian 370 leagues (2,193 km) west of this point.
Ponta do Sol is the northernmost point of both Cape Verde and the Island of Santo Antão. It is located 300 meters north of the city center of Ponta do Sol. The former Agostinho Neto Airport was located on the headland.
Ponta Leste is the easternmost point of the island of São Nicolau, Cape Verde. It is 8 km east of Carriçal and 30 km east of Ribeira Brava. The point was mentioned in a map in a 1747 atlas collection by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin as "Oost-Hoek" (Dutch), "Pointe de l'Est" (French"). It was sometimes known as East Point in English.
Ponta de Vera Cruz is a headland at the waterfront of the city Santa Maria in the south of Sal, Cape Verde. It is situated near the harbour of Santa Maria. There is a lighthouse on the headland, attached to a restaurant.
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