Cape Roxo ( pt, Cabo Roxo, french: Cap Roxo), is a

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

, marking the westernmost

frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

with

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. On the lower side is the São Domingos district of the

Cacheu Region Cacheu is a region in western Guinea-Bissau, on the border with Senegal. It has an area of 5,175 km2 and a population estimated in 2004 at 164,676. Its capital is Cacheu. There has not been any local administration since the civil war of 19 ...

of the Republic of

, above it is the

Oussouye Department Oussouye Department is one of the departments of Senegal, located in the Ziguinchor Region. It's situated in Basse Casamance, on the right bank of the mouth of the Casamance River. Administration Oussouye is its main village, which is also the on ...

of the

Ziguinchor Region Ziguinchor is a region of Senegal (regional capitals have the same name as their respective regions). The region is also referred to historically and popularly as Basse Casamance , settlement_type = Geographical region , image_skylin ...

of the Republic of

. Cape Roxo marks a significant angle shift in the outline of the African coast, with the coast running north–south above it, and turning southeast below it. It was originally called ''Capo Rosso'' by Venetian explorer

Alvise Cadamosto Alvise Cadamosto or Alvise da Ca' da Mosto (, also known in Portuguese as ''Luís Cadamosto''; c. 1432 – 18 July 1488) was a Venetian explorer and slave trader, who was hired by the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator and undertook two known ...

in 1456 on account of its reddish appearance (rosso = red in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

). Although it is sometimes found translated as ''Cabo Vermelho'' in some old Portuguese maps, Cadamosto's Italian term was largely adopted as ''Cabo Roxo'' by most

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

cartographers (in

, roxo = purple, so it did not sound foreign.)e.g. A.M. de Castilho (1866)'' Descripção e roteiro da costa occidental de Africa, desde o cabo de Espartel até o das Agulhas''. Lisbon: Impresa Nacional, vol.
p.151
/ref> It should not be confused with

Cape Rouge R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Ireland ...

(or "Red Cape") further north, on the

Petite Côte The Petite Côte is a stretch of coast in Senegal, running south from the Cap-Vert peninsula to the Saloum Delta, near the border with the Gambia. The northern section near Dakar contains seaside resorts such as Saly Portudal, Rufisque, Nianing a ...

of Senegal.

References

Headlands of Africa Landforms of Senegal {{Senegal-geo-stub