CAPE OF GOOD HOPE

Please use our A-Z to navigate this site or return HOME

The Cape of Good Hope (Afrikaans: Kaap die Goeie Hoop, Dutch: Kaap de Goede Hoop, Portuguese: Cabo da Boa Esperança) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.

A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa. This misconception was based on the misbelief that the Cape was the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Contemporary geographic knowledge instead states the southernmost point of Africa is Cape Agulhas about 150 kilometres (90 mi) to the east-southeast. The currents of the two oceans meet at the point where the warm-water Agulhas current meets the cold-water Benguela current and turns back on itself. That oceanic meeting point fluctuates between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point (about 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) east of the Cape of Good Hope).

The Cape of Good Hope is at the southern tip of the Cape Peninsula approximately 50 km (31 mi) south of Cape Town, South Africa. Whereas, the Horn of Africa (east) faces into the Indian Ocean.

When following the western side of the African coastline from the equator, however, the Cape of Good Hope marks the point where a ship begins to travel more eastward than southward. Thus, the first modern rounding of the cape in 1488 by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was a milestone in the attempts by the Portuguese to establish direct trade relations with the Far East (although Herodotus mentioned a claim that the Phoenicians had done so far earlier). Dias called the cape Cabo das Tormentas ("Cape of Storms"; Dutch: Stormkaap), which was the original name of the "Cape of Good Hope".

As one of the great capes of the South Atlantic Ocean, the Cape of Good Hope has long been of special significance to sailors, many of whom refer to it simply as "the Cape". It is a waypoint on the Cape Route and the clipper route followed by clipper ships to the Far East and Australia, and still followed by several offshore yacht races. 

OCEAN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN - As part of the Cleaner Ocean Foundation's ocean literacy campaign, we are developing a game that can be played on mobile devices like the iphone or android smart phones. In this game children learn a little about geography as they select one of five ocean areas to rid of marine litter. The screen above shows that the player has selected the Southern Ocean to tackle. Copyright Map © January 29 2018 all rights reserved COF Ltd. Copyright Maps © January 29 2018 all rights reserved COF Ltd.

The Cape of Good Hope is one of three capes, included in the Jules Verne Trophy, the others being Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn.

LINKS & REFERENCE

https://

AEGEAN - ACIDIFICATION - ADRIATIC - ARCTIC - ATLANTIC - BALTIC - BAY BENGAL - BAY BISCAY - BERING - BLACK - CARIBBEAN - CASPIAN - CORAL - EAST CHINA SEA

ENGLISH CH - GOC - GUANABARA - GULF GUINEA - GULF MEXICO - INDIAN - IRC - IONIAN - IRISH - MEDITERRANEAN - NORTH SEA - PACIFIC - PERSIAN GULF - SEA JAPAN

STH CHINA - PLASTIC - PLANKTON - PLASTIC OCEANS - RED - SARGASSO - SEA LEVEL RISE - SOUTHERN - TYRRHENIAN - UNCLOS - UNEP - WOC - WWF

GANGES - NILE

 BIOMAGNIFICATION - BP DEEPWATER - CANCER - DDT - FISHING NETS - FUKUSHIMA - MICROBEADS - MICRO PLASTICS - OCEAN GYRES - OCEAN WASTE - PACKAGING - PCBS - PET - PLASTIC - POPS - SINGLE USE

 This website is provided on a free basis as a public information service. copyright © Cleaner Oceans Foundation Ltd (COFL) (Company No: 4674774) 2024 Solar Studios, BN271RF, United Kingdom. COFL is a charity without share capital. The names Amphimax™ and SeaVax™ are trademarks.