Cape Blanco is a prominent headland on the

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

coast of southwestern

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

in the United States, forming the westernmost point in the state. Cape Blanco extends farther west than any point of land in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

(lower 48 states) except portions of the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large peninsula 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 the ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, including Cape Alava, the true westernmost point. The cape is part of Cape Blanco State Park and is the location of the Cape Blanco Light, first lit in 1870. The cape may have been named by explorer Martín de Aguilar in 1603 for its appearance, as ''blanco'' means "white" in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. In 1775,

Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra (22 May 1743 – 26 March 1794) was a Hispano-Peruvian naval officer operating in the Americas. Assigned to the Pacific coast Spanish Naval Department base at San Blas, in Viceroyalty of New Spain (present ...

named the point Cabo Diligensias. It was later renamed Cape Orford by Captain

George Vancouver Captain (Royal Navy), Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Uni ...

in 1792, but this name fell into disuse and Cape Blanco became the common usage.

Geology

The cape, a relatively level landform with cliffs facing the sea, is about higher than the ocean. It consists of layers of uplifted marine sediments, ranging in age from 80 million years at the bottom to less than 500,000 years at the top. The uplift is continuing; Cape Blanco is rising by several millimeters each year. Generally, landforms on the north and south end of the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

are rising as the ocean floor slides under the continent, while the central part of the coast "seems to be folding down." Landforms near the cape include beaches, bluffs, and reefs. Visible to the south are Needle Rock, Blanco Reef, and

Humbug Mountain Humbug Mountain is one of the highest mountains in the U.S. state of Oregon to rise directly from the Pacific Ocean. It lies on the state's Oregon Coast, southern coast, about south of Port Orford, Oregon, Port Orford and north of Gold Beach, ...

. To the north are Gull Rock,

Castle Rock Castle Rock may refer to: Geography Islands * Castle Rock (Alaska), an island off the coast of the U.S. state of Alaska * Castle Rock, Hong Kong, an island of Hong Kong, part of the Po Toi Islands * Castle Rock (Massachusetts), an island in th ...

, and Blacklock Point. Blanco Reef is a group of irregular rocks and ledges that are from offshore and are up to high.

Geography and climate

Cape Blanco is in northern Curry County, about north of Port Orford, along a mountainous and isolated stretch of the coast bounded to the east by the Coast Range. It lies about west of

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

. The

Sixes River The Sixes River flows about through coastal forests in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a rugged region of the Klamath Mountains along the Pacific north of Port Orford. It rises in the mountains of northern Curry County, s ...

empties into the Pacific Ocean along the north side of the cape. A walk along the

Oregon Coast Trail The Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) is a long-distance hiking route along the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of Oregon in the United States. It follows the coast of Oregon from the mouth of the Columbia River to the California border south of Brookin ...

leads south from the park to the mouth of the Elk River. Cape Blanco has very mild temperatures year round, with an all-time record high of only . Annual precipitation is high, but there is a distinct drying trend in summer, which gives Cape Blanco a warm-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(Csb) according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system. During winter storms, wind speeds can reach at the cape. Extreme winds at the cape and over the Blanco Reef make this part of the coast especially dangerous for ships.

Recreation

Activities at the park include hiking, horseback riding, fishing, camping, picnicking, and beachcombing, among others, and visiting the lighthouse, a pioneer cemetery, or the Hughes House, on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The property belonged originally to Patrick Hughes, who came to the cape in 1860 in search of gold and who eventually established a dairy ranch along the lower Sixes River. Restored by the Friends of Cape Blanco, the two-story, eleven-room ranch house was completed in 1898.

Literature

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

's early science fiction book ''

The Begum's Millions ''The Begum's Fortune'' (, literally "the 500 millions of the begum"), also published as ''The Begum's Millions'', is an 1879 novel by Jules Verne, with some utopian elements and other elements that seem clearly dystopian. Plot summary Two men ...

'', a

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...

community named Ville-France is established in 1872 on the South Oregon beach. Verne gives the location of this fictitious community as "eighty kilometers north of Cape Blanco". Cape Blanco is also noted on a map of

Brobdingnag Brobdingnag is a fictional land that is occupied by giants, in Jonathan Swift's 1726 satirical novel ''Gulliver's Travels.'' The story's main character, Lemuel Gulliver, visits the land after the ship on which he is travelling is blown off cour ...

in ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

'', as well as mentioned in Chapter 3 of ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

'': "And that harpoon-so like a corkscrew now-was flung in Javan seas, and run away with by a whale, years afterwards slain off the Cape of Blanco."

Gallery

File:Cape Blanco State Park.jpg, North side of the Cape File:Cape Blanco and Lighthouse.JPG, Cape Blanco and lighthouse File:Cape Blanco looking north.JPG, Cape Blanco looking north towards Gulf Rock, Castle Rock and Floras Lake State Park

References

External links

*
Cape Blanco Heritage Society
{{authority control

Blanco Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to: People *Blanco (surname) Fictional characters *Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth *Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'' *Graboid#El Blanco, ...

State parks of Oregon Oregon Coast Landforms of Curry County, Oregon Parks in Curry County, Oregon