What prominent rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of South Africa is a historic landmark?

The prominent rocky headland on South Africa’s Atlantic coast is the Cape of Good Hope.

It occupies the southern end of the Cape Peninsula, about 50 kilometers south of Cape Town, within the Table Mountain National Park. The headland is formed largely from sandstone belonging to the Cape Supergroup, the same broad geological formation associated with Table Mountain.

Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias rounded the cape in 1488 and called it Cabo das Tormentas, or Cape of Storms, reflecting the dangerous winds and seas. King John II of Portugal later renamed it Cabo da Boa Esperança, or Cape of Good Hope, because the passage raised hopes of reaching India and the trading centers of Asia by sea.

A frequent mistake is calling it Africa’s southernmost point. That distinction belongs to Cape Agulhas, about 150 kilometers to the east-southeast. Cape Point is nearby, but it is a separate promontory. The Cape of Good Hope became a famous waypoint on the maritime route between Europe and Asia and remains known for dramatic scenery and exceptionally rich fynbos vegetation.