What cape is the southernmost point of mainland South America?

What cape is the southernmost point of mainland South America? Cape Froward in Chile is the answer.

Cape Froward is the southern tip of the Brunswick Peninsula in Chile’s Magallanes Region, on the northern shore of the Strait of Magellan. Because the question specifies mainland, the cape outranks island or archipelago locations farther south.

The name was given in January 1587 by the English privateer Thomas Cavendish, who encountered the area’s severe weather. “Froward” reflects the difficult conditions: strong winds, heavy rain, rough seas and a coastline that has long challenged mariners.

The cape is marked by Cruz de los Mares, a large metal cross built to commemorate Pope John Paul II’s 1987 visit to Chile. Cape Horn is the common wrong answer: it is farther south, but lies on Hornos Island in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, not on mainland South America. Cape Froward is also considerably more remote and less tourist-developed than Cape Horn.