Cape (geography)

A cape is a point of land—a headland, peninsula, or promontory—that juts out into a body of water, most often a sea. Because a cape typically marks a sharp shift in the coastline’s direction, it serves as a key visual reference for sailors navigating by sight. This same prominence also makes capes vulnerable to natural erosion, especially from tidal action, which tends to give them a relatively short geological lifespan.

Capes arise through several natural processes, all involving erosion. Glaciers, volcanoes, and changes in sea level can create them. Waves and currents erode softer rock, leaving harder rock formations that become capes. Movements of Earth’s crust can uplift land to form a cape—the Cape of Good Hope is one example. Volcanic eruptions deposit lava that hardens into new landforms, as seen at Cape Verde (also called Cabo Verde). Glaciers carve out capes by scouring the landscape as they advance and retreat; Cape Cod in the United States was shaped by glacial activity during the last Ice Age.

Because capes are conspicuous coastal landmarks, sailors have used them for navigation since ancient times. The Greeks and Romans considered some capes sacred and built temples to the sea god nearby. Greek peripli—sailing guides—listed capes and headlands along a route. The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, for instance, describes a clockwise voyage around Sicily using three capes that define the island’s triangular shape: Cape Peloro in the northeast, Cape Pachynus in the southeast, and Cape Lilybaeum in the west. Sicily itself was called Trinacria, meaning “Three Capes.” Homer’s works mention many capes to chart journeys across the Mediterranean. Menelaus, Agamemnon, and Odysseus all faced danger at Cape Malea, the notoriously hazardous southeastern tip of the Peloponnese. Menelaus sailed past Cape Sounion on his return from Troy, and Nestor stopped at Cape Geraestus (now Cape Mandelo) on Euboea to make offerings at an altar to Poseidon. Cape Gelidonya (then Chelidonia) on Turkey’s coast served as a bearing aid for ships heading south to the Egyptian port of Canopus. Cape Sidero on the eastern tip of Crete was a waypoint for Jason and the Argonauts returning from Libya and for Paul the Apostle traveling from Caesarea to Rome. The three great capes—Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, Australia’s Cape Leeuwin, and South America’s Cape Horn—defined the traditional clipper route between Europe and the Far East, Australia, and New Zealand, and remain important landmarks in ocean yacht racing.

Notable capes around the world include: in Antarctica, Cape Ann and Cape May; in Australia, Cape Flattery, Cape Howe, Cape Leeuwin, Cape York, and Cape Byron; in Canada, Anse du Cap des Rosiers, Cape Blomidon, Cape Kildare, Cape North, Cape Race, Cape Sable, Cape Spear, Cape St Mary’s, Cape St. Marys, Cape Traverse, Crown Point, North Cape, and Cape Breton; in Chile, Cape Horn; in France, Cap Blanc Nez, Cap Gris Nez, Cap d’Antifer, Cap de la Hève, Cap Lévy, Cap de la Hague, Cap de Carteret, Cap Fréhel, Cap de la Chèvre, Cap Ferret, Cap Cerbère, Cap Leucate, Cap Couronne, Cap Croisette, Cap Sicié, Cap Bénat, Cap Cartaya, Cap Carmat, Cap de St-Tropez, Cap d’Antibes, Cap Ferrat, Cap-d’Ail, and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin; in India, Cape Comorin; in Indonesia, Tanjung Selatan and Tanjung Benoa; in Italy, Capo Mele, Capo di Noli, Capo di Vado, Capo d’Anzio, Capo Circeo, Capo Miseno, Capo Sottile, Capo d’Orso, Capo Palinuro, Capo Scalea, Cittadella del Capo, Capo Vaticano, Capo Suvero, Capo Peloro, Capo di Milazzo, Capo Calavà, Capo d’Orlando, Capo Plaia, Capo Zafferano, Capo Gallo, Capo San Vito, Capo Feto, Capo Granitola, Capo San Marco, Capo Bianco, Capo Santa Panagia, Capo Santa Croce, Capo Canpolato, Capo Schisò, Capo dell’Armi, Capo Spartivento, Capo Bruzzano, Capo Rizzuto, Capo Colonna (site of the remaining column of the Temple of Hera Lacinia), Capo Trionto, Capo Spulico, Capo San Vito, Torre del Pizzo, Capo Santa Maria di Leuca, Capo San Gennaro, Capo di Torre Cavallo, Punta Cavalluccio, and Punta Ferruccio; in Malaysia, Tanjung Datu, Tanjung Piai, and Tanjung Tuan; in Portugal, Cabo da Roca; in the United States, Cape Ann (Massachusetts), Cape Cod (Massachusetts), Cape May (New Jersey), Cape Charles (Virginia), Cape Henry (Virginia), Cape Hatteras (North Carolina), Cape Lookout (North Carolina), Cape Fear (North Carolina), Cape Canaveral (Florida), Cape Coral (Florida), and Cape Rosier (Maine); in Spain, Cabo Higer, Cabo Ogoño, Cabo Matxitxako, Cabo de Billao, Cabo de Ajo, Cape Mayor, Cabo de Oyambre, Cabo Prieto, Cabo Lastres, Cabo Torres, Cabo de Peñas, Cabo Vidio, Cabo Busto, Cabo Cebes, Cabo Burela, Cabo de Morás, Cabo Ortegal, Cabo Prior, Cabo Prioriño Grande, Cabo Santo Adrián, Cabo de Laxe, Cabo do Trece, Cape Vilan, Cabo Touriñán, Cabo da Nave, Cape Finisterre, Cabo Corrubedo, Cabo Urda, Cabo Home, and Cabo Silleiro; and in South Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, a headland on the southwest coast, which gives its name as a metonym for the Dutch Cape Colony, the Cape Colony, Cape Province, and Cape Town.