Everything about Cape Race totally explained
Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the
Avalon Peninsula on the island of
Newfoundland,
Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original
Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", or "bare". The Cape appeared on early sixteenth century maps as
Cape Raso and its name may derive from a cape of the same name at the mouth of the
Tagus River in Portugal.
Geography
Dense fogs, rocky coasts, and its proximity to trans-
Atlantic shipping routes have resulted in many
shipwrecks near Cape Race over the years. One of the most famous was the . Cape Race is a flat barren point of land jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, its cliffs rising nearly vertically to 30.5 m (100 ft) above sea level. On average it's shrouded in fog on 158 days of the year.
Lighthouse
In
1856, the first
lighthouse was installed by the British Government's
Trinity House. It was a
cast iron tower with a coal oil lamp turned by
clockwork. It was replaced in
1907 by a concrete tower and a light with a massive
hyperradiant Fresnel lens. The original lighthouse was then moved to Cape North; it now stands in front of the
Canada Science and Technology Museum in
Ottawa.
There is also a high-power
LORAN-C transmitter at Cape Race, whose mast was until the completion of
CN Tower the tallest structure of Canada.
History
From 1859 to 1866, the
New York City Associated Press kept a newsboat at Cape Race to meet ocean liners passing by on their way from Europe so that news could be
telegraphed to New York. These news items carried the byline "via Cape Race".
In
1904, the first
wireless station in Newfoundland was built at Cape Race. This was one of two land-based locations that received the distress call from the
RMS Titanic, the other being the Marconi telegraph station on top of the
Wanamaker's department store in New York City. On the night the
Titanic sank, wireless operator
Jack Phillips was sending telegraphs to Cape Race for relay to New York City. When Cyril Evans, wireless operator of the
SS Californian, sent an iceberg warning to the
Titanic, only a few miles away, Phillips was annoyed with the loud signal (due to the proximity) and responded “Shut up, Shut up, I’m working Cape Race.” This would become a famous incident, as the bored Evans soon went to sleep, and
Titanic hit an iceberg only fifteen minutes later.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cape Race'.
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