Cabo Touriñán is a small peninsula that is the most westerly point of
Peninsular Spain
Peninsular Spain is the part of the territory of Spain located within the Iberian Peninsula, thus excluding other parts of Spain: the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, Melilla, and several islets and crags off the coast of Morocco kno ...
. It is located in the municipality of
Muxía
Muxía (; ) is a coastal town and municipality in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Fisterra.
There was a serious oil spill involving the oil tanker ''Prest ...
, which is itself located within the
province of A Coruña
The province of A Coruña ( ; ; historical ) is the northwesternmost province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia. This province is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and north ...
and the
autonomous community of Galicia. The Cape, along with the rest of Muxía, is best known as a destination for pilgrims who extend the
Camino de Santiago
The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tra ...
by walking to the Atlantic coast after reaching the holy city of
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...
.
Description
The cape is a small
peninsula
A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula.
Etymology
The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
that juts about 1 km into the sea, the narrowest section being an
isthmus
An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...
150 metres wide between the coasts of Balal and Cuño. Its maximum altitude is 93 metres above sea level. The rock is made of is
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
, the erosion of which has caused the formation of deposits of pebbles, known as ''coídos'', and stony bars, which formed an
islet
An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...
such as the so-called ''A Ínsua'' on the west side of the cape. The western point of the cape, ''Os Buxeirados'', has a series of rocks that go into the sea around 300 to 400 m, known as ''A Laxe de Buxeirados'' or ''Bajos de Buxeirados''. The rocks have proved dangerous for navigation, causing some serious shipwrecks.
Its rugged landscape causes the cape to have vegetation to be basically just thorny reed or gorse like ''
Ulex eruopaeus''. In the north of the cape, there is a
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
and complementary buildings that were established 15 December 1898.
Name
The name comes from the nearby parish of Touriñán, in which the cape is located, and that must go back to the Latin name, which is supposed to be "''Taurinius''" or "''Taurinianus''" through the
genitive
In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...
"''Tauriniani''".
Gallery
File:Illa do Castelo, Touriñán.jpg, Illa do Castelo.
File:Costa da morte.jpg,
File:Cabo_Touriñán2.JPG,
See also
*
Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre (, also ; ; ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain.
In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like that of Finistère in France, derives from the Latin , mean ...
*
Extreme points of Spain
This is a list of the extreme points of Spain — the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
Spain
* Northernmost Point — Punta de Estaca de Bares, Mañón, Corunna –
* Southernmost Point &m ...
*
Touriñán Lighthouse
The Touriñán Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located in Muxía, province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. The current lighthouse is the second to be constructed at Cabo Touriñán a rocky headland on the Costa da Morte. It is managed by the po ...
References
Tourinan
Geography of the Province of A Coruña
Extreme points of Spain
Way of the Lighthouses
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