North Cape, Norway
Encyclopedia
Cape (geography)
In geography, a cape or headland is a point or body of land extending into a body of water, usually the sea.A cape usually represents a marked change in trend of the coastline. Their proximity to the coastline makes them prone to natural forms of erosion, mainly tidal actions. This results in capes...
on the island of Magerøya
Magerøya
Magerøya is an island in Finnmark county in the extreme north of Norway, in the community of Nordkapp. The island features a bleak, barren tundra-landscape devoid of any trees , with steep cliff faces on the coast and dramatic mountainscapes in the interior. It has an area of...
in Northern Norway, in the municipality of Nordkapp
Nordkapp
Nordkapp is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Honningsvåg.Nordkapp was separated from Porsanger on 1 July 1861...
. Its 307 m high, steep cliff is often referred to as the northernmost point of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, located at 71°10′21"N 25°47′40"E, 2102.3 km from the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
. However, the neighbouring point Knivskjellodden
Knivskjellodden
Knivskjellodden, located in the municipality of Nordkapp in Norway is the northernmost point of Magerøya, and is sometimes considered the northernmost point of the entire continent of Europe...
is actually 1,457 metres farther north. Moreover, both of these points are situated on an island, which means the northernmost point of mainland Europe is in fact Cape Nordkinn
Cape Nordkinn
Cape Nordkinn at is the northernmost point on Nordkinn Peninsula in Finnmark county in northern Norway. It is notable for being the northernmost point of mainland Norway, and by extension the northernmost point of mainland Europe.- Geography :...
(Kinnarodden), about 20 km from the village of Mehamn
Mehamn
Mehamn is a village in the Gamvik municipality in the county of Finnmark in northern Norway. The village abuts the base of a small Vedvik peninsula, itself part of the greater Nordkinn Peninsula, at the southern end of Mehamn Fjord, a bay in the Barents Sea...
on Nordkinn Peninsula
Nordkinn Peninsula
Nordkinn Peninsula is a peninsula in Finnmark, in northern Norway. Settlement is mostly concentrated on the northern shores and at the base of the peninsula. The main towns are Mehamn, Gamvik and Kjøllefjord. The Slettnes lighthouse near Gamvik is the northernmost lighthouse in mainland Europe.-...
.
The North Cape is the point where the Norwegian Sea
Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea is a marginal sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Norway. It is located between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea and adjoins the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a...
, part of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, meets the Barents Sea
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...
, part of the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
explorer Richard Chancellor
Richard Chancellor
Richard Chancellor was an English explorer and navigator; the first to penetrate to the White Sea and establish relations with Russia....
in 1553 when he passed the cape in the search for a Northeast passage. Visitors had to climb the cliff face to access the plateau; famous visitors include King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway in 1873 and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
's King Chulalongkorn
Chulalongkorn
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama V was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was known to the Siamese of his time as Phra Phuttha Chao Luang . He is considered one of the greatest kings of Siam...
in 1907. A road was opened to the North Cape in 1956. Today, the North Cape is a major tourist attraction. Access to the final few hundred metres leading to the North Cape itself requires purchase of a ticket costing 235 NOK per person or 160 NOK without the film (the Knivskjellodden can be reached free of charge on foot). Inside the restricted area is the Nordkapphallen, an extensive commercial tourist centre that houses a number of exhibits on the Cape's history.
There is also the possibility of becoming a member of the Royal North Cape Club (RNCC). The Royal North Cape Club was formed in 1984, and membership restricted to people who have visited the North Cape. The idea of the Club is to create corps of ambassadors who will promote the North Cape as a tourist destination and attraction, while maintaining and protecting the unique nature of the place. Club members receive a lifetime's free entrance to the North Cape. The RNCC has its own club Room beside the Grotta Bar. The midnight sun can be seen from 14 May to the 31st of July. The sun reaches its lowest point at 00.14 - 00.24.
The North Cape is reached by road through the North Cape Tunnel
North Cape Tunnel
North Cape Tunnel is a subsea road tunnel under Magerøysundet from the Norwegian mainland to Magerøya. The tunnel was built between 1993 and 1999, is long, and reaches a depth of below the sea level. Before the tunnel was built, a ferry carried the traffic across the sea between Kåfjord and...
. Regular buses run from the nearby town of Honningsvåg
Honningsvåg
at 70° 58' N, in Nordkapp municipality, claims to be the northernmost city in Norway and even in the world, although the title is disputed by Hammerfest, Norway; Barrow, Alaska; and Longyearbyen, Svalbard...
to the North Cape (36 km), and coaches meet the many cruise ships which call at Honningsvåg. The nearest airport is Honningsvåg Airport, Valan
Honningsvåg Airport, Valan
Honningsvåg Airport, Valan is located at Valan, north of the city centre of Honningsvåg, in Nordkapp municipality in Finnmark, Norway. It is owned and operated by Avinor AS....
(IATA code: HVG). The Norwegian airline Widerøe
Widerøe
Widerøe's Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a regional airline in Norway and part of the SAS Group. It operates a fleet of 34 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft , serving 41 domestic and 6 international destinations...
services the airport with flights to Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
. From Tromsø Airport there are connecting flights to destinations such as Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
and London-Stansted.
In 1943, the Battle of North Cape
Battle of North Cape
The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle which occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic Campaign. The German battlecruiser , on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war materiel from the Western Allies to the USSR, was brought to battle and sunk by superior...
was fought in the Arctic Ocean off this cape, where the Kriegsmarine battleship Scharnhorst
German battleship Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
was eventually sunk by gunfire from the HMS Duke of York
HMS Duke of York (17)
HMS Duke of York was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy. Laid down in May 1937, the ship was constructed by John Brown and Company at Clydebank, Scotland, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 4 November 1941, subsequently seeing service during the Second World War.In...
and torpedoes from a number of Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
destroyers.
The EuroVelo
EuroVelo
]EuroVelo, the European cycle route network, is a project of the European Cyclists' Federation to develop 13 long-distance cycle routes crossing Europe. The total length is , of which more than are in place....
bicycle route EV1 starts at North Cape and heads to Sagres
Sagres, Portugal
Sagres is a town located in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, Algarve, Portugal. It has a surface of 34,28 km² and a population of 1 939 . Sagres Point, historically connected to the Portuguese Age of Discovery, is located there....
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
- a 8,196 km distance by land and sea.