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{{short description|Cape in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Cape Race from a distance.jpg|220px|thumbnail|right|Cape Race]]
{{Location map|Newfoundland 
|width=220 
|lon_dir=W
|lat_dir=N 
|lat_deg = 46 
|lat_min = 39 
|lat_sec = 31.43 
|lon_deg = 53 
|lon_min = 04 
|lon_sec = 22.27 
|label = Cape Race 
|position = left 
|caption = Location of Cape Race in [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]
}}

'''Cape Race''' is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the [[Avalon Peninsula]] on the island of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], in [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original [[Portugal|Portuguese]] name for this cape, "Raso", meaning flat or low-lying.  The Cape appeared on early sixteenth century maps as Cabo Raso and its name may derive from [[Cabo Raso|a cape of the same name]] at the mouth of the [[Tagus River]] in Portugal.  The cape was the location of the [[Cape Race LORAN-C transmitter]] until the system was decommissioned in 2010. It is also home to the [[Cape Race Lighthouse]], notable for having received the distress call from the [[RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']].
{{TOC limit|2}}
==Geography==
Dense fog, rocky coasts, and its proximity to trans-[[Atlantic]] shipping routes have resulted in many [[shipwreck]]s near Cape Race over the years. One of the most famous was the {{SS|Arctic}}. Cape Race is a flat, barren point of land jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, its cliffs rising almost vertically to {{convert|30.5|m}} above sea level. On average it is shrouded in fog on 158 days of the year.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}
===Climate===
{{Weather box
|location = Cape Race<br>Climate ID: 8401000; WMO ID: 71800; coordinates {{coordinates|46|39|36|N|53|04|35|W|type:airport_region:CA-NL|name=Cape Race}}; elevation: {{convert|26.5|m|abbr=on}}; 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1982–present
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 12.7
|Feb record high C = 9.4
|Mar record high C = 11.4
|Apr record high C = 22.6
|May record high C = 20.8
|Jun record high C = 25.6
|Jul record high C = 27.8
|Aug record high C = 27.8
|Sep record high C = 28.2
|Oct record high C = 22.2
|Nov record high C = 16.9
|Dec record high C = 12.2
|year record high C = 28.2
|Jan high C = 1.1
|Feb high C = 0.8
|Mar high C = 1.4
|Apr high C = 4.4
|May high C = 8.1
|Jun high C = 11.9
|Jul high C = 16.2
|Aug high C = 17.9
|Sep high C = 15.9
|Oct high C = 11.9
|Nov high C = 7.6
|Dec high C = 3.7
|year high C = 
|Jan mean C = -2.4
|Feb mean C = -2.6
|Mar mean C = -1.8
|Apr mean C = 1.4
|May mean C = 4.7
|Jun mean C = 8.4
|Jul mean C = 12.9
|Aug mean C = 14.8
|Sep mean C = 12.4
|Oct mean C = 8.4
|Nov mean C = 4.3
|Dec mean C = 0.4
|Jan low C = -5.9
|Feb low C = -6.1
|Mar low C = -4.9
|Apr low C = -1.7
|May low C = 1.3
|Jun low C = 5.0
|Jul low C = 9.6
|Aug low C = 11.7
|Sep low C = 8.9
|Oct low C = 5.0
|Nov low C = 1.0
|Dec low C = -3.0
|year low C = 
|Jan record low C = -33.0
|Feb record low C = -26.1
|Mar record low C = -21.0
|Apr record low C = -15.0
|May record low C = -9.4
|Jun record low C = -6.1
|Jul record low C = -1.1
|Aug record low C = 0.6
|Sep record low C = -3.3
|Oct record low C = -10.0
|Nov record low C = -13.9
|Dec record low C = -21.1
|year record low C = -33.0
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 98.9
|Feb precipitation mm = 87.3
|Mar precipitation mm = 93.1
|Apr precipitation mm = 98.9
|May precipitation mm = 83.7
|Jun precipitation mm = 84.0
|Jul precipitation mm = 116.4
|Aug precipitation mm = 99.5
|Sep precipitation mm = 95.0
|Oct precipitation mm = 109.7
|Nov precipitation mm = 137.6
|Dec precipitation mm = 111.1
|year precipitation mm = 1215.2
|source 1 = [[Environment Canada]]<ref name="climate" >[[Environment Canada]]—[https://climate.weather.gc.ca/historical_data/search_historic_data_stations_e.html?searchType=stnName&timeframe=1&txtStationName=Cape+Race&searchMethod=contains&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2022&Year=2022&Month=3&Day=25&selRowPerPage=25 Station Results - Historical Data Cape Race]. Retrieved 26 March 2022.</ref>
|source 2 = Meteostat<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://meteostat.net/en/station/71800
| title= Climate of Cape Race 1991-2020
| publisher = Meteostat
| access-date = March 26, 2022}}</ref>
|date=March 2022
}}

==History==
[[File:Caperacestamp.jpg|left|thumb|Postage stamp (1947) of Cape Race, Newfoundland]]
In 1583, having claimed the port of [[St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St John's]] for [[Queen Elizabeth I]], [[Sir Humphrey Gilbert]], on board the ship [[English ship Squirrel (1570s)|''Squirrel'']], and accompanied by the ships ''Golden Hind'' and ''Delight'', passed by Cape Race on his way back to [[England]]. ''Squirrel'' would sink en route, taking Gilbert with her.

From 1859 to 1866, the [[New York City]] Associated Press kept a newsboat at Cape Race to meet ocean liners passing by on their way from Europe so that news could be [[telegraph]]ed to New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1857/11/06/78510325.pdf|title=News Yacht off Cape Race—European News.; ST. JOHNS, N. F., Thursday, Nov. 5.}}</ref><ref name="book1">(April 1902). [https://archive.org/stream/bookman32unkngoog#page/n164/mode/2up The Great Newspapers of the United States: The New York Evening Newspapers], ''[[The Bookman (New York)]]'', p. 160</ref>  These news items carried the byline "via Cape Race".
In 1904, the first [[wireless]] station in Newfoundland was built at Cape Race. On the night ''Titanic'' sank, wireless operator [[Jack Phillips (wireless operator)|Jack Phillips]] was sending telegraphs to Cape Race for relay to New York City. When [[Cyril Furmstone Evans|Cyril Evans]], wireless operator of the Leyland Line [[SS Californian|SS ''Californian'']], informed to the RMS ''Titanic'', only a few miles away, that the ship had stopped for the night and was surrounded by icy water. Phillips responded "DDD," meaning that he was transmitting to the Cape Race Marconi Station and to "stop transmitting" as he could not hear the faint signals from Cape Race due to ''Californian''{{'}}s stronger signal.

Evans soon switched off the wireless and went to sleep at a normal time. Only fifteen minutes later, [[Sinking of the RMS Titanic|''Titanic'' hit an iceberg]]. Cape Race was also the last land station to pick up ''Titanic''{{'}}s distress calls. Contrary to belief, Evans was not offended and ''Titanic''{{'}}s bridge was already aware of ice in the area due to previous ice warnings from other ships. After ''Titanic's'' distress call, Cape Race played a major role in relaying news of the sinking to other ships and land locations.

On September 11, 1990, a [[Boeing 727]] trijet [[1990 Faucett Perú Boeing 727 disappearance|went missing off the coast of Cape Race with 16 people on board]]. The aircraft was never found.

Marconi's station (MCE) was rebuilt on the same site and opened as a "wireless interpretation centre" to commemorate the 100th anniversary of ''Titanic''{{-'}}s sinking in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |author=Steve Bartlett |url=http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2012-04-13/article-2953774/%26lsquoStruck-iceberg.-Send-help-right-away.%26rsquo/1 |title='Struck iceberg. Send help right away.' – Local |publisher=The Telegram |date=2012-04-13 |access-date=2015-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223061426/http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2012-04-13/article-2953774/%26lsquoStruck-iceberg.-Send-help-right-away.%26rsquo/1 |archive-date=2015-02-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==References==
*{{cite rowlett|nfle|accessdate=July 24, 2008}}
*http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amerika14April1912.JPG
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://novascotia.ca/titanic/wireless-transcript.asp Cape Race Wireless log at sinking of ''Titanic'' preserved at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax]

{{coord|46|39|31.2|N|53|04|25.6|W|scale:25000|display=title}}

[[Category:Headlands of Newfoundland and Labrador|Race]]