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{{short description|Headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago
{{About|the southern headland of South America|other uses|Cape Horn (disambiguation)}}
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| map_caption = Location of Cape Horn in continental Chile
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'''Cape Horn''' ({{lang-es|Cabo de Hornos}}, {{IPA-es|ˈkaβo ðe ˈoɾnos|pron}}) is the southernmost [[headland]] of the [[Tierra del Fuego]] [[archipelago]] of southern [[Chile]], and is located on the small [[Hornos Island]]. Although not the most southerly point of [[South America]] (which
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Cape Horn was identified by mariners and first rounded in 1616 by the Dutchmen [[Willem Schouten]] and [[Jacob Le Maire]], who named it {{Audio|Nl-Kaap Hoorn.ogg|''Kaap Hoorn''}} after the city of [[Hoorn]] in the [[Netherlands]]. For decades, Cape Horn was a major milestone on the [[clipper route]], by which [[sailing ship]]s carried trade around the world. The waters around Cape Horn are particularly hazardous, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong currents and [[iceberg]]s.
The need for boats and ships to round Cape Horn was greatly reduced by the opening of the [[Panama Canal]] in August 1914. Sailing around Cape Horn is still widely regarded as one of the major challenges in [[yachting]]. Thus, a few recreational sailors continue to sail this route, sometimes as part of a [[circumnavigation]] of the globe. Almost all of these choose routes through the channels to the north of the Cape
[[File:Caphorn1.en.svg|thumb|320px|right|The islands around Cape Horn between [[South America]] and [[Antarctica]]]]
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Cape Horn is located on [[Hornos Island]] in the [[Hermite Islands]] group, at the southern end of the [[Tierra del Fuego]] [[archipelago]].<ref name=nautweb>[http://www.nautica.it/charter/capehorn.htm ''Cape Horn the Terrible''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318091912/http://www.nautica.it/charter/capehorn.htm |date=2011-03-18 }}, by Paolo Venanzangeli; from Nautical Web. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2011}}<ref>[http://www.capehorn-pilot.com/immagini/Charts/10.7%20Cabo%20de%20Hornos.htm ''Cabo de Hornos''], by Mariolina Rolfo and Giorgio Ardrizzi. From ''Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego Nautical Guide'', Editrice Incontri Nautici, 2004. {{ISBN|978-88-85986-34-3}}</ref> It marks the north edge of the [[Drake Passage]], the [[strait]] between South America and Antarctica. It is located in [[Cabo de Hornos National Park]].
The cape lies within Chilean territorial waters, and the Chilean Navy maintains a station on Hoorn Island, consisting of a residence, utility building, chapel, and lighthouse.<ref>[http://www.lhdigest.com/database/uniquelighthouse.cfm?value=3121 ''Isla Hornos Lighthouse''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060111022635/http://www.lhdigest.com/database/uniquelighthouse.cfm?value=3121 |date=2006-01-11 }}, from Lighthouse Depot. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2011}} A short distance from the main station is a memorial, including a large sculpture made by Chilean sculptor ''José Balcells'' featuring the silhouette of an [[albatross]], in remembrance of the sailors who died while attempting to "round the Horn". It was erected in 1992 through the initiative of the Chilean Section of the Cape Horn Captains Brotherhood.<ref>[http://www.caphorniers.cl/CH_monument.htm ''Cape Horn Memorial''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050926082830/http://www.caphorniers.cl/CH_monument.htm |date=2005-09-26 }}, by Roberto Benavente; from Fundacion Caphorniers Chile. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2011}} Due to severe winds characteristic of the region, the sculpture was blown over in 2014. A 2019 research expedition found the world's southernmost tree growing, a [[Nothofagus betuloides|Magellan's beech]] mostly bent to the ground, on a northeast-facing slope at the island's southeast corner.<ref>{{cite news|last=Welch|first=Craig|title=The tree at the bottom of the world—and the wind-blasted trek to find it|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/07/journey-to-the-worlds-southernmost-tree/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707165711/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/07/journey-to-the-worlds-southernmost-tree/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 7, 2020|newspaper=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]|date=July 2020|access-date=July 13, 2020}}</ref> Cape Horn is the southern limit of the range of the [[Magellanic penguin]].<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2008. [http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=232 ''Magellanic Penguin'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607230613/http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=232 |date=2012-06-07 }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2011}}
=== Climate ===
The climate in the region is generally cool, owing to the southern latitude. There are no weather stations in the group of islands including Cape Horn; but a study in 1882–1883, found an annual rainfall of {{convert|1,357|mm|abbr=off}}, with an average annual temperature of {{convert|5.2|°C}}. Winds were reported to average {{convert|30|km/h|m/s mph|2|lk=off}}, (5 [[Beaufort scale|Bf]]), with squalls of over {{convert|100|km/h|m/s mph|2|lk=off}}, (10 Bf) occurring in all seasons.<ref>[http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v13_n3/JoA_v13_p311.pdf ''Opiliones from the Cape Horn Archipelago''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184356/http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v13_n3/JoA_v13_p311.pdf |date=2007-09-30 }}, James C. Cokendolpher and Dolly Lanfranco L.; from Texas Tech University, 1985. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref> There are 278 days of rainfall. (70 days snow) and {{convert|2000|mm|abbr=off}} of annual rainfall.<ref>[http://www.caphorniers.cl/rescate_cabo/RescateCabo.htm Rescate en el Cabo de Hornos] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114021323/http://www.caphorniers.cl/rescate_cabo/RescateCabo.htm |date=2014-11-14 }}, retrieved on 18 November 2012</ref>
Cloud coverage is generally extensive, with averages from 5.2 eighths in May and July to 6.4 eighths in December and January.<ref>[http://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayIntlNORMS.asp?CityCode=87938&Units=both ''Usuaia: Monthly Normals''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106204059/https://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayIntlNORMS.asp?CityCode=87938&Units=both |date=2018-11-06 }}, from Weather Underground. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2011}} Precipitation is high throughout the year: the weather station on the nearby [[Diego Ramírez Islands]], {{convert|109|km|mi|abbr=off}} south-west in the [[Hoces Sea|Sea of Hoces]], shows the greatest rainfall in March, averaging {{convert|137.4|mm|in}}; while October, which has the least rainfall, still averages {{convert|93.7|mm|in}}.<ref>[http://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayIntlNORMS.asp?CityCode=85972&Units=both ''Isla Diego Ramirez: Monthly Normals''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106220621/https://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayIntlNORMS.asp?CityCode=85972&Units=both |date=2018-11-06 }}, from Weather Underground. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2011}} Wind conditions are generally severe, particularly in winter. In summer, the wind at Cape Horn is [[gale]] force up to 5 percent of the time, with generally good visibility; however, in winter, gale-force winds occur up to 30 percent of the time, often with poor visibility.<ref>[http://www.seekrieg.com/SouthPacificWeather.pdf ''U.S. Navy Marine Climatic Atlas of the World: Rounding Cape Horn''], 1995. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref>
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Being the southernmost point of land outside of Antarctica, the region experiences barely 7 hours of daylight during the June solstice, with Cape Horn itself having 6 hours and 57 minutes. The region experiences around {{frac|17|1|2}} hours of daylight during the December solstice, and experiences only [[nautical twilight]] from civil dusk to civil dawn.<!--https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@3887849?month=12--> [[Midnight sun#White nights|White nights]] occur during the week around the December solstice.
Cape Horn yields a [[Oceanic climate|subpolar oceanic climate]] (''[[Köppen climate classification|
{{Weather box|width=auto
|location = Diego Ramírez Islands (Isla Gonzalo)
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=== "Rounding" vs "Doubling" the Horn ===
Rounding Cape Horn can be done on a day trip by helicopter or more arduously by charter power boat or sailboat, or by cruise ship. "Doubling the Horn" is traditionally understood to involve sailing from a point above [[50th parallel South|50 degrees South]] in the Pacific around the Horn to a point above 50 degrees South in the Atlantic, and then sailing back against the prevailing westerly winds to a point above the 50th parallel south again back in the
=== Shipping hazards ===
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The [[prevailing winds]] in latitudes below 40° south can blow from west to east around the world almost uninterrupted by land, giving rise to the "[[roaring forties]]" and the even more wild "furious fifties" and "screaming sixties". These winds are hazardous enough that ships traveling east would tend to stay in the northern part of the forties (i.e. not far below 40° south latitude); however, rounding Cape Horn requires ships to press south to 56° south latitude, well into the zone of fiercest winds.<ref>''Along the Clipper Way'', Francis Chichester; p. 134. Hodder & Stoughton, 1966. {{ISBN|978-0-340-00191-2}}</ref> These winds are exacerbated at the Horn by the funneling effect of the [[Andes]] and the [[Antarctic peninsula]], which channel the winds into the relatively narrow Drake Passage.
The strong winds of the Southern Ocean give rise to correspondingly large waves; these waves can attain great height as they roll around the Southern Ocean, free of any interruption from land.
| title = Rogue Waves – Monsters of the deep: Huge, freak waves may not be as rare as once thought
| publisher = Economist Magazine
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The prevailing winds and currents create particular problems for vessels trying to round the Horn against them, i.e. from east to west. This was a particularly serious problem for traditional sailing ships, which could make very little headway against the wind at the best of times;<ref>''Along the Clipper Way''; pp. 72–73.</ref> modern sailing boats are significantly more efficient to windward and can more reliably make a westward passage of the Horn, as they do in the ''[[Global Challenge]]'' race.
Ice is a hazard to sailors venturing far below 40° south. Although the ice limit dips south around the horn, [[icebergs]] are a significant hazard for vessels in the area. In the South Pacific in February (summer in Southern Hemisphere), icebergs are generally confined to below 50° south; but in August the iceberg hazard can extend north of 40° south. Even in February, the Horn is well below the latitude of the iceberg limit.<ref>''Atlas of Pilot Charts: South Pacific Ocean''; Lighthouse Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-1-57785-202-5}}</ref> These hazards have made the Horn notorious as perhaps the most dangerous ship passage in the world; many ships
=== Lighthouses ===
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=== Recreational and sport sailing ===
[[File:Cape Horn-650px.jpg|thumb|Approaching Cape Horn from the south-west.]]
[[File:Ingo Kühl, Kap Hoorn 25. Okt 2009.jpg|thumb|Cape Horn from aboard the sailboat "Tari II", photographed by [[Ingo Kühl]], october 25, 2009]]
Despite the opening of the [[Suez Canal|Suez]] and Panama Canals, the Horn remains part of the fastest sailing route around the world, and so the growth in recreational long-distance sailing has brought about a revival of sailing via the Horn. Owing to the remoteness of the location and the hazards there, a rounding of Cape Horn is widely considered to be the yachting equivalent of climbing Mount Everest, and so many sailors seek it for its own sake.<ref>[http://robduncan.com/tag/cape-horn/ ''Rob Duncan's Quest for Cape Horn''], by Rob Duncan. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.victory-cruises.com/modern_cape_testimony2.html ''The Modern Cape Horner''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060319014724/http://www.victory-cruises.com/modern_cape_testimony2.html |date=2006-03-19 }}, from Victory Expeditions. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2011}}<ref>[http://landlpardey.com/CapeHorn.html ''Cape Horn to Starboard''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051018151542/http://landlpardey.com/CapeHorn.html |date=2005-10-18 }}, from Lin and Larry Pardey. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref>
[[Joshua Slocum]] was the first [[single-handed sailing|single-handed]] yachtsman to successfully pass this way (in 1895) although in the end, extreme weather forced him to use some of the inshore routes between the channels and islands and it is believed he did not actually pass outside the Horn proper. If one had to go by strict definitions, the first small boat to sail around outside Cape Horn was the Irish {{convert|42|ft|m|adj=on|abbr=off}} [[yacht]] ''Saoirse'', sailed by [[Edward Conor Marshall O'Brien|Conor O'Brien]] with three friends, who rounded it during a circumnavigation of the world between 1923 and 1925.<ref name=nautweb/> In 1934, the Norwegian [[Al Hansen (sailor)|Al Hansen]] was the first to round Cape Horn single-handed from east to west—the "wrong way"—in his boat ''Mary Jane'', but was subsequently wrecked on the coast of Chile.<ref>[http://www.mcallen.lib.tx.us/books/circumna/ci_15.htm ''The Circumnavigators''], by Don Holm; Chapter 15. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060510154215/http://www.mcallen.lib.tx.us/books/circumna/ci_15.htm |date=May 10, 2006 }}</ref> The first person to successfully circumnavigate the world single-handed via Cape Horn was Argentinian [[Vito Dumas]], who made the voyage in 1942 in his {{convert|33|ft|m|adj=on||abbr=off}} [[ketch]] ''[[Lehg II]]''; a number of other sailors have since followed him,<ref>[http://www.joshuaslocumsocietyintl.org/solo/solotable.htm ''List Of Solo Circumnavigators''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516052700/http://www.joshuaslocumsocietyintl.org/solo/solotable.htm |date=2018-05-16 }}, from the Joshua Slocum Society International. Retrieved February 12, 2006.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2011}} including [[Webb Chiles]] aboard "{{sc|EGREGIOUS}}" who in December 1975 rounded Cape Horn single-handed. On March 31, 2010, 16-year-old [[Abby Sunderland]] became the youngest person to single-handedly sail around Cape Horn in her attempt to circumnavigate the globe. In 1987 The British Cape Horn Expedition, headed by [[Nigel H. Seymour]], rounded Cape Horn in the world's first ever 'sailing kayaks', called 'Kaymaran'; two seagoing kayaks which could link together with two sails mountable in any of the four sailing positions between the two kayaks.
Today, there are several major yacht races held regularly along the old clipper route via Cape Horn. The first of these was the ''[[Sunday Times Golden Globe Race]]'', which was a single-handed race; this inspired the present-day ''[[Around Alone]]'' race, which circumnavigates with stops, and the ''[[Vendée Globe]]'', which is non-stop. Both of these are single-handed races, and are held every four years. The ''[[Volvo Ocean Race]]'' is a crewed race with stops which sails the clipper route every four years. Its origins lie in the ''[[Whitbread Round the World Race]]'' first competed in 1973–74. The [[Jules Verne Trophy]] is a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht, with no restrictions on the size of the crew (no assistance, non-stop). Finally, the ''Global Challenge'' race goes around the world the "wrong way", from east to west, which involves rounding Cape Horn against the prevailing winds and currents.
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== History ==
=== Discovery by Europeans ===
[[File:Le Maire en Schouten - Reis via Kaap Hoorn naar Indie 1615-1616.png|thumb|upright=1.6|Voyage of [[Willem Schouten]] and [[Jacob le Maire]] in 1615/16]]
In 1526 the Spanish vessel the ''San Lesmes'' commanded by [[Francisco de Hoces]], member of the [[Loaísa expedition]], was blown south by a gale in front of the Atlantic end of [[Magellan Strait]] and reached Cape Horn, passing through 56° S where ''they thought to see Land's End.'' Since the discovery, the sea separating South America from [[Antarctica]] bears the name of its discoverer in Spanish sources. It appears as ''Mar de Hoces'' (Sea of Hoces) in most Spanish-language maps. In English charts however it is named the [[Drake Passage]].
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In September 1578, Sir [[Francis Drake]], in the course of [[Francis Drake's Circumnavigation|his circumnavigation]] of the world, passed through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean. Before he could continue his voyage north his ships encountered a storm, and were blown well to the south of [[Tierra del Fuego]]. The expanse of open water they encountered led Drake to guess that far from being another continent, as previously believed, Tierra del Fuego was an island with open sea to its south. This discovery went unused for some time, as ships continued to use the known passage through the Strait of Magellan.<ref>[http://www.goldenhind.co.uk/education/worksheets/voyage.html ''Voyage of the Golden Hind''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050104112053/http://www.goldenhind.co.uk/education/worksheets/voyage.html |date=2005-01-04 }}, from The Golden Hind. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref>
By the early 17th century the [[Dutch East India Company]] was given a monopoly on all Dutch trade via the Straits of Magellan and the [[Cape of Good Hope]], the only known sea routes at the time to the [[Far East]]. To search for an alternate route and one to the unknown ''Terra Australis'', [[Isaac Le Maire]],<ref>it seems to have been Le Maire who pursued the idea of such a passage [''A History of Geographical Discovery and Exploration'' by J.N.L.Baker. London: George G. Harrap & Co., Ltd. 1931, p. 149]</ref> a wealthy Amsterdam merchant and [[Willem Schouten]], a ship's master of Hoorn, contributed in equal shares to the enterprise, with additional financial support from merchants of Hoorn.<ref>''THE RELATION OF a Wonderful Voyage made by Willem Cornelison Schouten of Horne. Shewing how South from the Straights of Magelan in Terra Delfuego: he found and discovered a newe passage through the great South Seaes, and that way sayled round about the world''. London: Imprinted by T.D. for Nathanaell Newbery, 1619 [Facsimile of the first edition in English. London: George Rainbird Limited for The World Publishing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, 1966], The Preface.
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At the time it was discovered, the Horn was believed to be the southernmost point of Tierra del Fuego; the unpredictable violence of weather and sea conditions in the Drake Passage made exploration difficult, and it was only in 1624 that the Horn was discovered to be an island. It is a telling testament to the difficulty of conditions there that Antarctica, only {{convert|650|km|abbr=off}} away across the Drake Passage, was discovered only as recently as 1820, despite the passage having been used as a major shipping route for 200 years.<ref name=nautweb/>
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The only facilities in the vicinity able to service or supply a ship, or provide medical care, were in the [[Falkland Islands]]. The businesses there were so notorious for price-gouging that damaged ships were sometimes abandoned at [[Port Stanley]].
While most companies switched to steamers and later used the [[Panama
Traditionally, a sailor who had rounded the Horn was entitled to wear a gold loop earring—in the left ear, the one which had faced the Horn in a typical eastbound passage—and to dine with one foot on the table; a sailor who had also rounded the [[Cape of Good Hope]] could place both feet on the table.<ref>''A Voyage for Madmen'', by Peter Nichols; pp. 4–5. Harper Collins, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-06-095703-2}}</ref><ref>[http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/4744.html ''Covey Crump – "cape"''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060207014905/http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/4744.html |date=2006-02-07 }}, Commander [[A.T.L. Covey-Crump]], RN, 1955; from the Royal Navy. Retrieved February 5, 2006.</ref>
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[[Bernard Moitessier]] made two significant voyages round the Horn; once with his wife Françoise, described in ''Cape Horn: The Logical Route'',<ref>''Cape Horn: The Logical Route; 14,216 Miles Without Port of Call'', by Bernard Moitessier. Sheridan House, 2003. {{ISBN|978-1-57409-154-0}}</ref> and once single-handed. His book ''The Long Way'' tells the story of this latter voyage, and of a peaceful night-time passage of the Horn: "The little cloud underneath the moon has moved to the right. I look... there it is, so close, less than {{convert|10|mi|km}} away and right under the moon. And nothing remains but the sky and the moon playing with the Horn. I look. I can hardly believe it. So small and so huge. A hillock, pale and tender in the moonlight; a colossal rock, hard as diamond."<ref>''The Long Way'', by Bernard Moitessier; p. 141. Sheridan House, 1995. {{ISBN|978-0-924486-84-5}}</ref>
A memorial presented in [[Robert FitzRoy]]'s bicentenary (2005) commemorates his landing on Cape Horn on 19 April 1830.
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[[Category:Extreme points of Earth]]
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[[Category:Landforms of Tierra del Fuego]]
[[Category:Cliffs of Chile]]
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