
In
geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
, a cape is a
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.Whittow, Jo ...
,
peninsula
A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula.
Etymology
The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
or
promontory
A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the s ...
extending into a
body of water
A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as ponds, wetlands, or more rare ...
, usually a
sea
A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...
. A cape usually represents a marked change in trend of the
coastline
A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
, often making them important landmarks in sea navigation. This also makes them prone to natural forms of
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
, mainly tidal actions, resulting in a relatively short geological lifespan.
Formation
Capes can be formed by
glaciers
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
,
volcanoes
A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...
, and changes in
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
. Erosion plays a large role in each of these methods of formation.
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...
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
The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
was formed by tectonic forces. Volcanic eruptions can create capes by depositing lava that solidifies into new landforms.
Cape Verde
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
, (also known as
Cabo Verde) is an example of a volcanic cape.
Glaciers can carve out capes by eroding the landscape as they advance and retreat.
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...
in the United States was formed by glacial activity during the
last Ice Age.
Importance in navigation
Capes (and other headlands) are conspicuous visual landmarks along a coast, and sailors have relied on them for
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...
since antiquity. 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
The ''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' is an ancient Greek periplus (περίπλους ''períplous'', 'circumnavigation') describing the sea route around the Mediterranean and Black Sea. It probably dates from the mid-4th century BC, specifically t ...
'', for instance, illustrates a clockwise journey around
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
using three capes that define its triangular shape:
Cape Peloro in the northeast,
Cape Pachynus in the southeast, and
Cape Lilybaeum in the west. Sicily itself was referred to as Trinacria (or Three Capes) in antiquity.
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
's works reference a number of capes to describe journeys around the
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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
.
Menelaus
In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; ) was a Greek king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', the Trojan war began as a result of Menelaus's wife, Helen, fleeing to Troy with the Trojan prince Paris. Menelaus was a central ...
,
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans during the Trojan War. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of C ...
, and
Odysseus
In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...
each faced peril at the notoriously dangerous
Cape Malea at the southeastern tip of the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...
. Menelaus navigated via
Cape Sounion on his way home from Troy, and
Nestor stopped at Cape Geraestus (now
Cape Mandelo) on
Euboea
Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...
to give offerings at the altar to
Poseidon
Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...
there.
Cape Gelidonya (then known as Chelidonia) on the coast of
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
served as a bearing aid for ships heading to the
Egyptian
''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
port of
Canopus
Canopus is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Carina (constellation), Carina and the list of brightest stars, second-brightest star in the night sky. It is also Bayer designation, designated α Carinae, which is Rom ...
, directly to the south.
Cape Sidero
Cape Sideros or Cape Sidero () is a cape at the eastern end of the island of Crete, Greece. Anciently it was known as Samonium or Samonion (), Sammonium or Sammonion (), Salmonium or Salmonion (Σαλμώνιον) and Salmone (Σαλμώνη). T ...
on the eastern tip of
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
was a waypoint for
Jason
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...
and the
Argonauts
The Argonauts ( ; ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo'', named after it ...
returning from
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
as well as for
Paul the Apostle
Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...
as he traveled from
Caesarea to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.
The three
great capes (
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
's
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
's
Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia.
Description
A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders ...
, and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
's
Cape Horn
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 (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
) defined the traditional
clipper route
The clipper route was derived from the Brouwer Route and was sailed by clipper, clipper ships between Europe and the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. The route, devised by the Dutch navigator Hendrik Brouwer in 1611, reduced the time of a ...
between
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and the
Far East
The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
, Australia and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. They continue to be important landmarks in ocean
yacht racing
Yacht racing is a Sailing (sport), sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course mark ...
.
List of capes
Antarctica
*
Cape Ann
Cape Ann is a rocky peninsula in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. It is about northeast of Boston and marks the northern limit of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester and the towns of Essex, Man ...
*
Cape May (Antarctica), McMurdo Sound
Australia
*
Cape Flattery (Queensland)
*
Cape Howe
*
Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia.
Description
A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders ...
*
Cape York (Queensland)
Canada
*Anse du Cap des Rosiers
*
Cape Blomidon
Cape Blomidon ( ) is a headland located on the Bay of Fundy coast of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Location
Cape Blomidon is located in Kings County at the northeast edge of the Blomidon Peninsula. Its geology largely comprises sedi ...
*Cape Kildare
*
Cape North
*
Cape Race
Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", mean ...
*
Cape Sable
*
Cape Spear
*Cape St Mary
*
Cape St Mary's
*
Cape Traverse
*Crown Point
*
North Cape
*
Cape Breton
Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...
Chile
*
Cape Horn
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 (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
India
*
Cape Comorin
Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...
Portugal
*
Cabo da Roca
United States
*
Cape Ann
Cape Ann is a rocky peninsula in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. It is about northeast of Boston and marks the northern limit of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester and the towns of Essex, Man ...
, Massachusetts
*
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...
, Massachusetts
*
Cape May
Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Th ...
, New Jersey
*
Cape Charles, Virginia
Cape Charles is a town / municipal corporation in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,178 as of the 2020 census us, 2020 Census.
History
Cape Charles, located close to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, on Eastern Sh ...
*
Cape Henry, Virginia
*
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina.
As a temperate barrier island, the landscape has been shaped by wind, waves, and storms. There are long stretches of beach ...
, North Carolina
*
Cape Lookout, North Carolina
*
Cape Fear, North Carolina
*
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral () is a cape (geography), cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated ...
, Florida
**
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the sta ...
, a launch station of the US Space Force
*
Cape Coral
Cape Coral is a city in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957, the city's population had grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 census, a 26% increase from 154,309 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-most p ...
, Florida
*
Cape Rosier, Maine
South Africa
*
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
, a headland on the southwest coast of South Africa, when referred to as ''the Cape'', a metonym for:
**
Dutch Cape Colony
The Cape of Good Hope () was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) supplystation in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original supply station and the successive states that the area was ...
, a colony of the Dutch East India company
**
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
, a British colony in South Africa that replaced the Dutch Cape Colony
**
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...
, a former province of South Africa formed from the Cape Colony
**
Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, a city in South Africa, and surrounding areas
Gallery
File:Cape Cornwall.jpg, Cape Cornwall, England
File:Nasa photo cape fear.jpg, Satellite image of Cape Fear, North Carolina
File:Cape McLear, Malawi (2499273862).jpg, Cape MacLear, Malawi
File:Cape horn.png, Map depicting Cape Horn
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 (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
at the southernmost portion of South America
File:Spain.Santander.Cabo.Mayor.jpeg, Photograph of Cabo Mayor in Santander, Spain
File:Cape Campbell sunrise.jpg, Photograph of Cape Campbell, New Zealand, at sunrise
File:Nortdkapp%26Knivskjellodden.JPG, The North Cape, Finnmark, Norway
File:Lindesnes fyr sett fra fly..jpg, Aerial view of Cape Lindesnes, Mandal, Norway
File:Vippefyret-verdensende-tjome.JPG, Tipping lantern at Cape Verdens Ende, Tønsberg, Norway
See also
*
Extreme points of Africa
*
Extreme points of Antarctica
*
Extreme points of Asia
*
Extreme points of Australia
This is a list of the extreme points of Australia (the country, not the Australia (continent), continent). The list includes extremes of cardinal direction, elevation, and other points of peculiar geographic interest. The location of some points ...
*
Extreme points of Europe
Extreme may refer to:
Science and mathematics Mathematics
*Extreme point, a point in a convex set which does not lie in any open line segment joining two points in the set
*Maxima and minima, extremes on a mathematical function
Science
*Extremop ...
*
Extreme points of North America
This is a list of the extreme points of North America: the points that are highest and lowest, and farther north, south, east or west than any other location on the continent. Some of these points are debatable, given the varying definitions of N ...
*
Extreme points of South America
The extreme points of South America are the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location on the continent. The continent's southernmost point is often said to be Cape Horn, but Águila Islet of the Diego Ramírez ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
*Cape
Coastal and oceanic landforms
Oceanographical terminology