Cape Bojador

E417484

Cape Bojador is a prominent headland on the Atlantic coast of Western Sahara that long marked a psychological and navigational barrier for European explorers during the Age of Discovery.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Cape Bojador canonical 2
Cabo Bojador 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf cape
geographical feature
headland
administrativeRegion Boujdour Province
associatedWith Age of Exploration
surface form: Age of Discovery

Henry the Navigator NERFINISHED
Portuguese maritime exploration
climate arid desert climate
coordinates approximately 26°07′N 14°30′W
countryClaimedBy Morocco
environment characterized by coastal desert and dunes
fearedFor breaking surf
reports of sea monsters and boiling seas in medieval lore
shallow reefs
strong currents
firstRoundedBy Gil Eanes
firstRoundedByCountry Kingdom of Portugal
firstRoundedByYear 1434
geology rocky promontory with adjacent sandbanks and reefs
historicalRole major psychological barrier for European Atlantic exploration
notorious navigational hazard during the early Age of Discovery
importance its successful rounding opened the way for further exploration of the West African coast
marked the limit of known European navigation along the African coast until the 15th century
knownAs Cape Bojador
surface form: Cabo Bojador

Cap Boujdour
Ras Bujdur
lighthouseFunction aids maritime navigation along the Western Sahara coast
locatedIn Northwest Africa
Saharan Africa
surface form: Sahara region

Spanish Sahara
surface form: Western Sahara
locatedOn Atlantic Ocean
mentionedIn early Portuguese exploration chronicles
medieval European portolan charts
nameLanguage Arabic name: رأس بوجدور‎ (Ras Bujdur)
French name: Cap Boujdour
Portuguese name: Cabo Bojador
navigationAid lighthouse at Cape Bojador
nearbyGeographicFeature north of the Canary Current upwelling zone’s core
nearbySettlement Boujdour NERFINISHED
oceanographicFeature area of coastal upwelling
influenced by Canary Current
partOf Atlantic coast of Africa
politicalStatus located in a disputed territory (Western Sahara)
regionStatus non-self-governing territory as classified by the United Nations (Western Sahara context)
strategicSignificance historically important waypoint on Atlantic shipping routes along West Africa

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Gil Eanes hasSignificantPlace Cape Bojador
Cape Bojador knownAs Cape Bojador
this entity surface form: Cabo Bojador