West Cape is the westernmost point in the main chain of islands of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is located in the far southwest of the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, within

Fiordland National Park Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is by far the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of , and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. The park i ...

, between

Tamatea / Dusky Sound Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park. Geography One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometre ...

and

Taiari / Chalky Inlet Taiari / Chalky Inlet is one of the southernmost fiords in Fiordland, in the southwestern corner of New Zealand's South Island and part of Fiordland National Park. As with the neighbouring fiords of Tamatea / Dusky Sound to the north and Rakitum ...

. The cape consists of a small rocky shore and low forest-covered sloping land, and is located just north of the Newton River mouth. West Cape is one of the 4 New Zealand Cardinal Capes, as named by Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

, on his first voyage to the region in 1769-70. Chart Of New Zealand - J Cook 1769-7

Retrieved on 7 Dec 2017. The other Cardinal Capes named at the time are North Cape (Otou), North Cape, Cape East, and Cape South.

References

Headlands of Southland, New Zealand Landforms of Fiordland {{Fiordland-geo-stub