The Cap de la Nau () or Cabo de la Nao (), literally Cape of the Ship, is a headland located central-eastern coastal

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

on the Gulf of Valencia,

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. In English, it is also known as Cape Nao.

Geography

Cap de la Nau is in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

of Xàbia, within the Mediterranean province of

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...

, in the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a " ...

of Marina Alta, and is the easternmost point of the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous comm ...

. It marks the southern limit of the Gulf of Valencia, and points towards the nearby island of Formentera in the Balearic Islands. The cape is rocky, steep and mostly composed of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

. Beneath the headland there is a large cave, known as ''Cova dels Orgues'' (or ''Cueva de los Órganos'' in Spanish) that can only be approached from the sea. ;Lighthouse Atop the headland, at an elevation of , stands the Cap de la Nau lighthouse, providing an important aid to navigation.

Geography

See also