Everything about Cape Spear totally explained
Cape Spear, located on the
Avalon Peninsula near
St. John's, Newfoundland, is the easternmost point in
Canada (52°37'W).
There is currently a dispute as to whether Cape Spear is the most easterly point in North America.
Nordost Rundingen,
Greenland or
Semisopochnoi Island,
Alaska could also be considered to be the most easterly point.
The
Portuguese named this location "Cabo da Esperança" which means "cape of hope", which became "Cap d'Espoir" in
French and finally "Cape Spear".
Cape Spear is the trailhead/trail end for two components of the
East Coast Trail.
History
There has been a
lighthouse operating at Cape Spear since September
1836. The original Cape Spear lighthouse was the second lighthouse built in
Newfoundland; the first was built in
1810 at
Fort Amherst, at the entrance to St. John's Harbour. In
1832, the first legislative assembly for the colony created a lighthouse board. Cape Spear was chosen as the site for a new lighthouse because it was on the rocky eastern coast near the entrance to St John's harbour.
Construction began in
1834. The first lighthouse was a square wooden building with a tower in the middle containing the light. A
foghorn was added in
1878. The first light used at Cape Spear had already been used since
1815 at a lighthouse at
Inchkeith on the east coast of
Scotland. This light used seven
Argand burners and curved reflectors. This was later replaced by a
dioptric lens system; the light was first lit by oil, then
acetylene and finally electricity in
1930.
Because of its proximity to
convoy routes during the
Second World War, a gun battery was installed at Cape Spear to defend the entrance to St. John's harbour. Barracks and underground passages leading to the bunkers were built for the use of troops stationed there.
A new concrete building was built to house the light in
1955. The original lighthouse building and the light keeper's residence have since been restored. It is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and the location has been designated a
Canadian National Historic Site. Cape Spear was also used recently for filming of a hockey game in the Canadian television series,
Road Hockey Rumble.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cape Spear'.
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