Cape Horn
From Freepedia
Cape Horn is often said to be the southernmost point of South America. Cape Horn is located at 55° 59′ 00″ S, 067° 16′ 00″ W. Cape Horn is located in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. The southernmost point on the mainland is Cape Froward.
The cape was first rounded by a European on January 26, 1616, by the Dutch expedition of Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire. They named it Kaap Hoorn after the city of Hoorn, Schouten's birthplace. The Spanish name of the place is derived from the Dutch: Cabo de Hornos (This is a typical case of false friends, which resulted in that the name in Spanish means "Cape of Ovens").
The Cape lies within Chilean territorial waters, and the Chilean Navy supports a lighthouse keeper and his family. The government station consists of a residence, utility building, chapel, and lighthouse. A short distance from the main station is a large sculpture featuring the silhouette of an albatross. The terrain is entirely treeless, although quite lush due to the frequent precipitation.
The city of Ushuaia, Argentina is the major municipality in the region, with a population of 50,000. The biggest Chilean towns are Porvenir, on the main island, and Puerto Williams, on Navarino Island. Puerto Toro, a few miles south of Puerto Williams is the southernmost town in the world, unless Antarctic stations are considered towns. The ozone hole has proven particularly hazardous to residents of the region.
Sailing route
Cape Horn is notorious because of the poor weather conditions that made it difficult to round in sailing ships. There are five routes past the Horn, from north to south:
- the narrow Strait of Magellan through the Tierra del Fuego islands can offer a slow and difficult passage;
- the Beagle Channel;
- the Afuera passage;
- the Gulf of Ancud;
- the open waters of the Drake Passage, south of the Cape, ample sea room for maneuvering as winds change, but with treacherous depth variances.
Before the construction of the Panama Canal and the transcontinental railroad, the route around the Horn was an important path for trade and passenger ships taking goods and people — sometimes permanently — from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. It was also an essential supply route for the Spanish Empire.
Due to the dangerous waters, rounding Cape Horn is often called the sailing equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. The prevailing winds and currents are west to east, with a water flow as much as 8 times the Gulf Stream through a narrow 150 km passage. Allegedly the area became the grave for 800 ships and 10,000 sailors. Getting around the Cape requires sailing into the latitudes labeled the "roaring 40s" and the "screaming 50s"; an old sailor's maxim runs "below 40 degrees, there is no law; below 50 degrees, there is no God". (By contrast, the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa is at 35 degrees south.) Sudden storms can arise with gale-force winds exceeding 100 knots (180 km/h) and swells greater than 100 feet (30 m). Historically, many ships found themselves fighting the elements for days, weeks, and even months, especially westbound, only to fail to round the Horn and turn back. The rough waters were so treacherous that ships passed through for centuries before venturing just 150 km south and discovering Antarctica.
Pamir was the last commercial sailing ship to round Cape Horn laden with cargo. All major round-the-world yacht races go around it with the prevailing winds except for the Global Challenge.
The phrase "rounding the Horn" inspired the name of the BBC Radio series Round the Horne, the "Horne" in this case being Kenneth Horne.
See also
- Cape Froward
- False Cape Horn
- Cape of Good Hope, one of its two African counterparts
- Cape Agulhas, one of its two African counterparts
- Compare: the Horn of Africa
External links
- Cape Horn to Starboard - modern day sailing account
- Flying Cloud Around the Horn - 1853 passage
- Rob Duncan's Quest for Cape Horn - amateur sailor
- Antarctica, Continent of Ice - relevant discussion of Cape Horn and Drake Passage
