Cape Lookout is a sharp rocky promontory along the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coast of northwestern

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It is located in southwestern Tillamook County, approximately southwest of Tillamook, just south of

Netarts Bay Netarts Bay is an estuarine bay on the northern Oregon Coast of the U.S. state of Oregon, located about 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Tillamook, Oregon, Tillamook. The unincorporated community of Netarts, Oregon, Netarts is located on the nor ...

. The promontory extends perpendicular to the coast, and is approximately wide at its base, tapering as it extends outward from the coast. Cape Lookout State Park is located on the north side of the promontory, which is part of the

Siuslaw National Forest The Siuslaw National Forest ( ) is a national forest in western Oregon in the United States. Established in 1908, the Siuslaw is made up of a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from coastal forests to sand dunes. Geography The Siuslaw Natio ...

. Cape Lookout Road travels past the base of the cape. Cape Lookout is a member of Tillamook's Three Capes Scenic Drive. The Cape Lookout Trail is a popular hiking trail, extending through

Sitka spruce ''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to almost tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height that can exceed 5 m (16 ft). It is by far the largest species of spruce and the fifth-larg ...

forest to the tip of the promontory. The cliff-top hiking trail offers views of Cape Kiwanda and

Cascade Head Cascade Head is a headland and UNESCO biosphere reserve and United States Forest Service Experimental Forest. It is situated southwest of Portland, Oregon on the Oregon Coast between Lincoln City and Neskowin. Cascade Head Preserve is a Natur ...

to the south as well as Cape Meares, Three Arch Rocks, and Neahkahnie Mountain to the north. Migrating whales can also be seen, generally from December through June, as they pass the end of the cape. The cape was named on July 6, 1788 by British

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mo ...

John Meares John Meares (c. 1756 – 1809) was an English navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war. Career Meares' father was Charles Meares, "formerly an ...

, who was sailing south from

Nootka Island Nootka Island (french: île Nootka) is an island adjacent to Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is in area. It is separated from Vancouver Island by Nootka Sound and its side-inlets, and is located within Electoral Area A of the ...

, Canada in search of trade. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the cape was the location of a notable crash of a

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

bomber. There was one survivor (the bombardier), Wilbur L. Perez. A plaque on the cape memorializes the victims of the crash, which occurred in 1943.

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Lookout A lookout or look-out is a person in charge of the observation of hazards. The term originally comes from a naval background, where lookouts would watch for other ships, land, and various dangers. The term has now passed into wider parlance. ...

Landforms of Tillamook County, Oregon {{TillamookCountyOR-geo-stub

See also

References

External links