Cabo da Roca

Cape Roca
The Cabo da Roca lighthouse, overlooking the promontory towards the Atlantic Ocean
Highest point
Peak	Cabo da Roca, Sintra-Cascais Natural Park
Elevation	140 m (460 ft)
Coordinates	38°46′51″N 9°30′2″W / 38.78083°N 9.50056°W / 38.78083; -9.50056
Naming
Etymology	Roca: Portuguese for sea cliff
Native name	Cabo da Roca (Portuguese)
Geography
Cape Roca The location of Cabo da Roca in continental Portugal
Country	Portugal
Region	Lisboa
District	Lisbon
Municipality	Sintra
Parent range	Serra da Sintra

Cabo da Roca (Portuguese: [ˈkaβu ðɐ ˈʁɔkɐ]) or Cape Roca is a cape which forms the westernmost point of the Sintra Mountain Range, of mainland Portugal, of continental Europe, and of the Eurasian landmass.^[1] It is situated in the municipality of Sintra, near Azóia, in the south west of the Lisbon District. Notably, the point includes a lighthouse that started operation in 1772.

Cabo da Roca was known to the Romans as Promontorium Magnum^[1] and during the Age of Sail as the Rock of Lisbon.

The cape is within the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, 42 kilometres west of the city of Lisbon and in the southwest of Sintra. A location (38°47′N 9°30′W / 38.783°N 9.500°W / 38.783; -9.500) is inscribed on a stone plaque, located on a monument at the site.

The western coast is a mixture of sandy beaches and rocky cliff promontories: around Cabo da Roca, cliffs are more than 100 metres in height, and cut into crystalline rocks, composed of strongly folded and faulted sedimentary units. These forms are disturbed by dikes and small beaches.^[4] This promontory of "high" beaches is the extreme western immersion of the ancient eruptive Sintra massif, as evident from the rose-coloured granite in the north and syenite of the Ribeira do Louriçal in the south. In the vicinity of the Cape, there are geomorphological examples of gabbro-diorite, volcanic breccia, and granite.

Part of the granite formations show evidence of strong coastal erosion, while in other areas there are limestone deposits embedded in the granite.^[5]

Much of the vegetation on this cape is low-lying and adapted to saltwater and windy conditions. Once home to a variety of plant life, Cabo da Roca has been overrun with the invasive plant species Carpobrotus edulis. This creeping, mat-forming plant, a member of the Aizoaceae succulent family, was introduced as ground cover by local residents several decades ago, but now covers much of the arable land on Cabo da Roca.

Many migratory and marine birds roost temporarily along the cliffs and protected coves of the coastal area.

The climate present at Cape Roca is extremely moderated by the ocean. Due to seasonal upwelling, the area comprising the cape has cool, stable summers with little to no rainfall but very common occurrences of fog which boosts the humidity and decreases insolation. Summer is also the windiest season of the year with July and August averaging around 15 km/h (9.3 mph). On the other hand, winters are rainy and have mild temperatures especially during the night, though the amount of precipitation received in this season is unparalleled with other places nearby such as the Sintra Mountains which can receive triple that precipitation.^[6] Due to the seasonal lag, September is the warmest month.

• Extreme points of Europe
• Cape Finisterre
• Pointe de Corsen
• Cape Nordkinn
• Land's End

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cabo da Roca.

• Fonseca, António Oliveira (November 2010), Relatório da Visita ao Parque Natural Sintra-Cascais (PDF) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: Universidade Aberta, retrieved 28 September 2011^{[permanent dead link]}
• Scheffers, Anja; Kelletat, Dieter (2005), "Tsunami Relics on the Coastal Landscape West of Lisbon, Portugal", Science of Tsunami Hazards (PDF), vol. 23, Essen, Germany: University of Duisburg-Essen, pp. 3–16, retrieved 28 September 2011

• Panoramic view of Cabo da Roca