The
Cape of Good Hope (
Afrikaans Kaap die Goeie Hoop,
Dutch 
Kaap de Goede Hoop (help·info),
Portuguese Cabo da Boa Esperança) is a rocky
headland on the
Atlantic coast of
South Africa. There is a very common misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa and the dividing point between the
Atlantic and
Indian Oceans, but in fact the southernmost point is
Cape Agulhas, about 150&_160;kilometres (90&_160;mi) to the
east-southeast. However, when following the coastline from the equator, the Cape of Good Hope marks the psychologically important point where one begins to travel more eastward than southward. Thus the rounding of the cape in 1488 was a major milestone in the attempts by the
Portuguese to establish direct trade relations with the
Far East.
As one of the great capes of the South Atlantic Ocean, the Cape of Good Hope has been of special significance to sailors for many years and is widely referred to by them simply as "the Cape."[1] It is a major milestone on the clipper route followed by clipper ships to the Far East and Australia, and still followed by several offshore yacht races.
The term Cape of Good Hope was also used to indicate the early Cape Colony established in 1652, in the vicinity of the Cape Peninsula. Just prior to the formation of the Union of South Africa, the term referred to the entire region that was to become the Cape Province in 1910.
The Cape of Good Hope is located at 34°21'29?S 18°28'19?E? / ?34.35806°S 18.47194°E? / -34.35806; 18.47194.[2] It is at the south-west corner of the Cape Peninsula, about 2.3&_160;kilometres (1.4&_160;mi) west and a little south of Cape Point on the south-east corner. Cape Town is about 50 kilometres to the north of the Cape, in Table Bay at the north end of the peninsula. The peninsula forms the western boundary of False Bay. Geologically, the rocks found at the two capes -and indeed over much of the peninsula- are part of the Table Mountain Group, and are formed of the same type of sandstones as those exposed in the faces of Table Mountain itself.
