North Cape (Norway)
The northernmost cape in Europe accessible by car, where the Norwegian Sea meets the Barents Sea.
Last updated
United Kingdom Hydrographic Office · Public domain
The North Cape is a cape on the northern coast of Magerøya island in Northern Norway.[1]
Biology and range
The North Cape plateau is fully exposed at 307 meters above sea level.[2] The cliff drops 307 meters to the Arctic Ocean below.[2] The visitor centre windows face north directly towards the auroral oval.[2] There is no light pollution for hundreds of kilometres north of the cape.[2]
The North Cape is one of the few places to watch the northern lights from a cliff edge over the open Arctic Ocean.[2] The E69 highway reaches the plateau, making it the northernmost point in Europe accessible by car.[1]
What the specialist sources record
The Store norske leksikon entry notes that an experience centre was built into the plateau with panoramic views, café, restaurant, post office, souvenir shop, and a so-called super videograph that opened in 1988.[3] The same source states that the E69 runs from the E6 at Olderfjord, along the west side of Porsangen, through an undersea tunnel under Magerøysundet and across Magerøya to the North Cape.[3] The Explore Finnmark guide explains that between October and April the E69 is regularly closed due to extreme weather and reopens under a convoy system.[2] That guide also states that the actual northernmost point of the European mainland is Knivskjelodden, reachable only by an 18 km round-trip hike.[2]
References
- Wikipedia, "North Cape (Norway)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Svein Askheim, "Nordkapp", Store norske leksikon; "The northernmost point of Europe", Innovation Norway (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Visiting North Cape in Winter: Road Conditions and Practical Guide", Explore Finnmark. facts only, no text reused. explorefinnmark.com
- Svein Askheim, "Nordkapp", Store norske leksikon. facts only, no text reused. snl.no
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article North Cape (Norway) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Peninsulas And Capes
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: North Cape (Norway) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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