Cape Flattery () is the northwesternmost point of the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

. It is in Clallam County, Washington on the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and th ...

, where the

Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centr ...

joins 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 contin ...

. It is also part of the Makah Reservation, and is the northern boundary of the

Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is one of 15 marine sanctuaries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Declared in 1994, the sanctuary encompasses of th ...

. Cape Flattery can be reached from a short hike, most of which is boardwalked. Cape Flattery Trail, with photographs. The westernmost point in the contiguous United States is at Cape Alava, south of Cape Flattery in

Olympic National Park Olympic National Park is a United States national park located in the State of Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. The park has four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west-side temperate rainforest, and the forests of the drier ...

. However, the westernmost tip of Cape Flattery is almost exactly as far west as Cape Alava, the difference being approximately 5 seconds of longitude, about , at high tide and somewhat more at low tide. The Cape Flattery Lighthouse is on

Tatoosh Island Tatoosh Island is a small island and small group of islands about offshore (northwest) of Cape Flattery, which is on the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Tatoosh is the largest of a small group of islands also often r ...

, just off the cape. Makah Bay and Neah Bay are on either side of the cape.

Neah Bay, Washington Neah Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Makah Reservation in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 865 at the 2010 census. It is across the Canada–US border from British Columbia. Originally called "Scarborou ...

is the closest town to the cape.

History

James Cook

Cape Flattery is the oldest permanently named feature in Washington state, being described and named by

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

on March 22, 1778. Cook wrote: "''... there appeared to be a small opening which flattered us with the hopes of finding an harbour ... On this account I called the point of land to the north of it Cape Flattery.''"

Japanese castaways in 1834

In 1834, the first Japanese persons (including Otokichi) known to have set foot on what is now Washington state arrived in a dismasted, rudderless ship that ran aground near Cape Flattery. The three survivors of the broken ship were held as slaves by the local

Makah people The Makah (; Klallam: ''màq̓áʔa'')Renker, Ann M., and Gunther, Erna (1990). "Makah". In "Northwest Coast", ed. Wayne Suttles. Vol. 7 of ''Handbook of North American Indians'', ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institu ...

. When William H. McNeill learned about them, he took them to British authorities at

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of the ...

, under orders from

John McLoughlin John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver fro ...

of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...

which controlled the site.

Fuca Pillar

Fuca Pillar is a tall, almost rectangular, rock on the west side of Cape Flattery. It is named after

Juan de Fuca Juan de Fuca (10 June 1536, Cefalonia 23 July 1602, Cefalonia)Greek Consulate of Vancouver,Greek Pioneers: Juan de Fuca. was a Greek pilot who served PhilipII of Spain. He is best known for his claim to have explored the Strait of Aniánnow ...

, a Greek sailor who explored for Spain. Fuca has a doubtful claim to being the first European explorer to see the Fuca Pillar and to explore the

, also named for him. The first generally accepted mention of the pillar was by

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 a ...

in 1788.

In popular culture

Literature

*The children's novel ''Ghost Canoe'' (1998) by Will Hobbs is set on Tatoosh Island and Neah Bay in 1874. *Parts of the young adult novel ''

Freaky Green Eyes ''Freaky Green Eyes'' (2003) is the third young adult fiction novel written by Joyce Carol Oates. The story follows the life of 15-year-old Francesca "Franky" Pierson as she reflects on the events leading to her mother's mysterious disappearance. ...

'' (2003) by

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

are set here in present day. *The novel ''When Wolf Comes'' (2009) by John Pappas is set in Cape Flattery in 1801. *D.G. Driver's novel ''Echo of the Cliffs'' (2017), the third in the young adult trilogy of the Juniper Sawfeather series of novels, has parts that take place at Cape Flattery and Fuca Pillar.

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Landforms of Clallam County, Washington

Flattery Flattery (also called adulation or blandishment) is the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of ingratiating oneself with the subject. It is also used in pick-up lines when attempting to initiate sexual or romantic cou ...