Cape Spartel is a promontory

Headlands and bays

Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...

 in Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 about 1000 feet (304.8 m) above sea level at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar

Strait of Gibraltar

The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...

, 12 km West of Tangier

Tangier

Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...

. It is frequently but incorrectly referred as the northernmost point of Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, which is instead Ras ben Sakka

Ras ben Sakka

Ras ben Sakka is the northernmost point of the African continent, located in Tunisia. It is located at 37°21' N., just 950 meters west of Cap Blanc , which is often mentioned as the northern tip of Africa, and reaching more than 30 meters further north than the latter.-References:...

, Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

.

Near Cape Spartel is Spartel Bank

Spartel

Spartel Bank or Majuán Bank is a submerged former island located in the Strait of Gibraltar at 35°55' N 5°58' W near Cape Spartel, its highest point is currently 56 meters below the surface. It vanished under the surface approximately 12,000 years ago due to rising ocean levels from melting ice...

, a sunken island hypothesized by some as the location of the legendary island of Atlantis

Atlantis

Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....

.

Cape Spartel is accessible from the National Road S701.

Historical Events

In December 1911, the British P&O

P&O

P&O may refer to:* Pickling and oiling raw steel.* Phosphate conversion coating and oiling aluminium, zinc, cadmium, silver, or tin.-Shipping:* Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, a former British shipping and logistics company....

 liner

Ocean liner

An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

, SS Delhi

SS Delhi

The SS Delhi was a steamship of the Peninsular & Orient Line that was lost off Cape Spartel, northern Morocco on 12 December 1911. Among the passengers was Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, whose subsequent death in Egypt was ascribed to ill-health caused during the wreck, and his family, the...

, ran aground near to Cape Spartel. All passengers were rescued by British and French warships, but three French rescuers were lost.

Literary References

In Chapter 1 of the book Morocco (A. and C. Black, 1904) by Samuel Levy Bensusan, the author references the Cape when talking about the most northern part of Morocco (Page 3).