Cape Fria (literally "cold cape") is a headland overlooking the

South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

situated along the northern shoreline of

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, about 120 km (75 mi) to the northwest of Mowe Bay and 200 km to the south of the

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

n border. It is located in

Skeleton Coast National Park Skeleton Coast National Park is a national park located in northwest Namibia, and has the most inaccessible shores, dotted with shipwrecks. The park was established in 1971 and has a size of .Shollenbarger, MariaMars on Earth: Traveling Namibia's ...

. Due to its remoteness, it is accessible only by air.

History

Cape Fria was discovered, along with

Cape Cross Cape Cross (Afrikaans: ''Kaap Kruis''; German: ''Kreuzkap''; Portuguese: ''Cabo da Cruz'') is a headland in the South Atlantic in Skeleton Coast, western Namibia. History In 1484, Portuguese navigator and explorer Diogo Cão was ordered by Ki ...

, in 1486 by the Portuguese sailor

Diogo Cão Diogo Cão (; -1486), anglicised as Diogo Cam and also known as Diego Cam, was a Portuguese explorer and one of the most notable navigators of the Age of Discovery. He made two voyages sailing along the west coast of Africa in the 1480s, explorin ...

. Since the beginning of the 1980s, there have been plans to build a deep-sea port along with a railway connection near Cape Fria to connect the north of Namibia — as well as the neighboring countries of

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, and

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

— to international maritime traffic. Such a project would benefit Namibia's position in intra-African trade, but it has not been pursued, particularly on account of financing and environmental issues. The construction of a harbor and a rail connection has been planned since 2011 and was confirmed in October 2014, with the government dedicating $1.8 million USD to the project.

Sources

{{reflist Landforms of Namibia