Cape Lopez () is a headland on the coast of
Gabon, west central
Africa. The westernmost point of Gabon, it separates the
Gulf of Guinea from the South
Atlantic Ocean. Cape Lopez is the northernmost point of a low, wooded
island between two mouths of the
Ogooué River.
There is an oil terminal at the southeast side of the cape, and the seaport of
Port-Gentil lies about 10 km southeast of the cape.
[ A ]lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
has existed on the Cape since 1897; the current tower was built in 1911, but has been inactive for many years and is in danger of collapsing from erosion.Phare du Cap Lopez
/ref>
It is named after the Portuguese explorer Lopes Gonçalves
Lopes Gonçalves or Lopo Gonçalves was a Portuguese explorer of the African coast. He was the first European sailor to cross the equator, the first to reach the point where the coast turns south and the first to reach Gabon. In 1473 or 1474 he ...
, who reached it circa 1474. In 1602, the Dutch explorer and writer Pieter de Marees published some images of its people.
File:Johann Theodor de Bry - Inwoners van Kaap de Lopo Gonsalves RP-P-BI-5268.jpg, Inhabitants of ''Kaap de Lopo Gonsalves'', 1602
See also
* Battle of Cape Lopez
References
Landforms of Gabon
Peninsulas of Africa
Ogooué River
Ogooué-Maritime Province
Headlands of Gabon
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