View source for Earth:Cabo da Roca

{{Infobox mountain
<!-- *** Heading *** -->
| name               = Cape Roca
| native_name        ={{native name|pt|Cabo da Roca}}
| other_name         =
<!-- *** Names **** -->
| etymology          = ''Roca'': [[Social:Portuguese language|Portuguese]] for ''sea cliff''
<!-- *** Image *** -->
| photo              = Cabo da Roca on sunset.jpg
| photo_caption      = The Cabo da Roca lighthouse, overlooking the promontory towards the Atlantic Ocean
| photo_size         = 235
<!-- *** Country *** -->
| country            = Portugal
| state_type         = Region
| state              = Lisboa
| district           = Lisbon
| settlement_type    = Municipality
| settlement         = Sintra
<!-- *** Family *** -->
| range              = Serra da Sintra
<!-- *** Locations *** -->
| highest            = Cabo da Roca
| highest_location   = Sintra-Cascais Natural Park
| elevation_m        = 140
| elevation_ref      = 
| coordinates        = {{coord|38|46|51|N|9|30|2|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref    =
| length_km          =
| length_orientation =
| width_km           =
| width_orientation  =
| area_km2           =
<!-- *** Features *** -->
| geology            =
| orogeny            =
| period             =
<!-- *** Maps *** -->
| map                = Portugal
| map_caption        = The location of Cabo da Roca in continental Portugal
}}
'''Cabo da Roca''' ({{IPA-pt|ˈkaβu ðɐ ˈʁɔkɐ|lang}}) or '''Cape Roca''' is a cape which forms the [[Earth:Extreme points of Europe|westernmost point]] of the Sintra Mountain Range, of mainland Portugal, of continental [[Earth:Europe|Europe]], and of the [[Earth:Eurasia|Eurasian landmass]].<ref name="eb">{{cite web |url=http://www.original.britannica.com/eb/article-9063940/Cape-Roca |title=Cape Roca |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |year=2008 |access-date=2008-08-12 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It is situated in the municipality of Sintra, near Azóia, in the southwest of the district of Lisbon. Notably the point includes a lighthouse that started operation in 1772.

==History==
Cabo da Roca was known to the [[History:Ancient Rome|Romans]] as ''Promontorium Magnum''<ref name="eb"/> and during the [[Age of Sail]] as the Rock of Lisbon.

=== Lighthouse ===
{{Excerpt|Cabo da Roca Lighthouse}}

==Geography==
[[File:Cabo da Roca monument.JPG|thumb|left|Monument announcing Cabo da Roca as the westernmost point of continental Europe]]
[[File:Cabo da Roca (13).jpg|thumb|left|Granite boulders and sea cliffs along the coast, north of the cape]]
[[File:Cabo da Roca08.jpg|thumb|left|Invasive Carpobrotus edulis growing on the cape plateau]]
[[File:Day picture of the shoreline at Cabo de Roca.jpg|thumb|left|The shoreline at Cabo da Roca]]
The cape is within the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, 42 kilometres west of the city of [[Place:Lisbon|Lisbon]] and in the southwest of Sintra. A location ({{coord|38|47|N|9|30|W|region:PT_type:landmark}}) is inscribed on a stone plaque, located on a monument at the site.

The western coast is a mixture of sandy beaches and rocky cliff promontories: around Cabo da Roca, cliffs are more than 100 metres in height, and cut into crystalline rocks, composed of strongly folded and faulted sedimentary units. These forms are disturbed by dikes and small beaches.<ref>Anja Scheffers and Dieter Kelletat (2005), p. 6</ref> This promontory of "high" beaches is the extreme western immersion of the ancient eruptive Sintra massif, as evident from the rose-coloured [[Chemistry:Granite|granite]] in the north and [[Chemistry:Syenite|syenite]] of the Ribeira do Louriçal in the south. In the vicinity of the Cape, there are geomorphological examples of gabbro-[[Earth:Diorite|diorite]], volcanic breccia, and granite.

Part of the granite formations show evidence of strong [[Earth:Coastal erosion|coastal erosion]], while in other areas there are limestone deposits embedded in the granite.<ref>António Oliveira Fonseca (2010), p. 11</ref>

Much of the vegetation on this cape is low-lying and adapted to saltwater and windy conditions. Once home to a variety of plant life, Cabo da Roca has been overrun with the invasive plant species ''[[Biology:Carpobrotus edulis|Carpobrotus edulis]]''. This creeping, mat-forming plant, a member of the [[Biology:Aizoaceae|Aizoaceae]] succulent family, was introduced as ground cover by local residents several decades ago, but now covers much of the arable land on Cabo da Roca.

Many migratory and marine birds roost temporarily along the cliffs and protected coves of the coastal area.

===Climate===
The climate present at Cape Roca is extremely moderated by the ocean. Due to seasonal [[Earth:Upwelling|upwelling]], the area comprising the cape has cool, stable summers with little to no rainfall but very common occurrences of fog which boosts the humidity and decreases insolation. Summer is also the windiest season of the year with July and August averaging around {{convert|15|km/h|abbr=on}}. On the other hand, winters are rainy and have mild temperatures especially during the night, though the amount of precipitation received in this season is unparalleled with other places nearby such as the Sintra Mountains which can receive triple that precipitation.<ref>{{cite web |title=IPMA - Monitorização diária |url=https://www.ipma.pt/pt/oclima/monitoriza.dia/ |website=www.ipma.pt |access-date=5 June 2021}}</ref> Due to the [[Earth:Seasonal lag|seasonal lag]], September is the warmest month.

{{Weather box
|location = Cabo da Roca (Lighthouse), 1961-1990 normals, 1940-1966 sun hours, altitude: {{convert|142|m|abbr=on}}
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|width = auto
|Jan high C = 14.0
|Feb high C = 13.8
|Mar high C = 15.5
|Apr high C = 15.9
|May high C = 17.0
|Jun high C = 19.2
|Jul high C = 20.2
|Aug high C = 20.7
|Sep high C = 21.1
|Oct high C = 19.4
|Nov high C = 16.6
|Dec high C = 14.6
|year high C =

|Jan mean C = 11.6
|Feb mean C = 11.6
|Mar mean C = 12.5
|Apr mean C = 13.3
|May mean C = 14.5
|Jun mean C = 16.5
|Jul mean C = 17.6
|Aug mean C = 17.9
|Sep mean C = 18.1
|Oct mean C = 16.7
|Nov mean C = 14.1
|Dec mean C = 12.1
|year mean C =

|Jan low C = 9.3
|Feb low C = 9.3
|Mar low C = 10.0
|Apr low C = 10.7
|May low C = 11.5
|Jun low C = 13.8
|Jul low C = 15.0
|Aug low C = 15.1
|Sep low C = 15.1
|Oct low C = 14.0
|Nov low C = 11.6
|Dec low C = 9.6
|year low C =

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 63
|Feb precipitation mm = 67
|Mar precipitation mm = 52
|Apr precipitation mm = 41
|May precipitation mm = 32
|Jun precipitation mm = 15
|Jul precipitation mm = 2
|Aug precipitation mm = 5
|Sep precipitation mm = 23
|Oct precipitation mm = 61
|Nov precipitation mm = 92
|Dec precipitation mm = 60
|year precipitation mm =

|Jan humidity = 78
|Feb humidity = 81
|Mar humidity = 80
|Apr humidity = 79
|May humidity = 82
|Jun humidity = 85
|Jul humidity = 86
|Aug humidity = 86
|Sep humidity = 85
|Oct humidity = 80
|Nov humidity = 78
|Dec humidity = 80
|year humidity =

|Jan sun = 136.4
|Feb sun = 146.9
|Mar sun = 167.4
|Apr sun = 216.0
|May sun = 248.0
|Jun sun = 246.0
|Jul sun = 272.8
|Aug sun = 275.9
|Sep sun = 219.0
|Oct sun = 204.6
|Nov sun = 147.0
|Dec sun = 139.5
|year sun =

|Jan percentsun= 45
|Feb percentsun= 48
|Mar percentsun= 45
|Apr percentsun= 55
|May percentsun= 56
|Jun percentsun= 55
|Jul percentsun= 60
|Aug percentsun= 65
|Sep percentsun= 59
|Oct percentsun= 59
|Nov percentsun= 49
|Dec percentsun= 47
|year percentsun=54

|source 1 = IPMA<ref name="climate">{{cite web |last1=Domingos |first1=Sónia Isabel Sequeira |title=Microclimatologia do Município de Sintra com base em estações meteorológicas |url=https://repositorio.ul.pt/handle/10451/1294 |access-date=5 June 2021 |date=2008}}</ref>
}}

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center"
|+Average wind speed (km/h) 1961-1990

|-
!
!'''Jan'''
!'''Feb'''
!'''Mar'''
!'''Apr'''
!'''May'''
!'''Jun'''
!'''Jul'''
!'''Aug'''
!'''Sep'''
!'''Oct'''
!'''Nov'''
!'''Dec'''
!'''Year'''
|-
|Cabo da Roca<ref name="climate" />
|13.5
|14.1
|13.6
|13.0
|13.0
|13.7
|15.0
|15.2
|13.6
|13.6
|13.7
|13.8
|13.8
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[Earth:Extreme points of Europe|Extreme points of Europe]]
* Cape Finisterre
* Pointe de Corsen
* [[Earth:Cape Nordkinn|Cape Nordkinn]]
* Land's End

==External links==
* [http://fotohm.com/360/HD/cabodaroca/ Panoramic view of Cabo da Roca]

==References==
{{Commons|Cabo da Roca}}

===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{citation |first1=Anja |last1=Scheffers |first2=Dieter |last2=Kelletat |contribution=Tsunami Relics on the Coastal Landscape West of Lisbon, Portugal |publisher=University of Duisburg-Essen |location=Essen, Germany |access-date=28 September 2011 |year=2005 |title=Science of Tsunami Hazards |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=3–16 |url=http://library.lanl.gov/tsunami/231/scheff.pdf}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabo Da Roca}}
[[Category:Extreme points of Earth]]

{{Sourceattribution|Cabo da Roca|1}}