The Avalon Peninsula is the Newfoundland peninsula containing St. John’s and connected to the island’s main body by a narrow isthmus.
It occupies the southeastern portion of the island of Newfoundland and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, including several large bays. More than half of Newfoundland and Labrador’s population lives there, making it the province’s main population and economic centre. St. John’s, the provincial capital, is on the peninsula’s eastern side.
The peninsula has a long history of European fishing, settlement and transatlantic communication. Cape Spear, on its eastern coast, is the easternmost point of mainland North America. The Avalon Peninsula should not be confused with the nearby Burin or Bonavista peninsulas, which are separate projections of Newfoundland. Its name comes from the Avalon colony founded by Lord Baltimore in the seventeenth century.