Cape Spear
Cape Spear, located on the Avalon Peninsula near St. John's, Newfoundland, is the easternmost point in Canada (52°37'W). Cape Spear is the first location in Canada to see the sun rise each day. There is currently a dispute as to whether Cape Spear is the most easterly point in North America. While some consider Cape Spear to hold this title, others consider Nordost Rundingen, Greenland to hold the title.
The Portuguese named this location "Cabo da Esperança" which means "cape of hope", which became "Cap d'Espoir" in French and finally "Cape Spear".
History
There has been a lighthouse operating at Cape Spear since September 1836. The original Cape Spear lighthouse was the second lighthouse built in Newfoundland; the first was built in 1810 at Fort Amherst, at the entrance to St. John's Harbour. In 1832, the first legislative assembly for the colony created a lighthouse board. Cape Spear was chosen as the site for a new lighthouse because it was on the rocky eastern coast near the entrance to St John's harbour.
Because of its proximity to convoy routes during the Second World War, a gun battery was installed at Cape Spear to defend the entrance to St. John's harbour. Barracks and underground passages leading to the bunkers were also built for the use of troops stationed there.
A new concrete building was built to house the light in 1955. The original lighthouse building and the light keepers's residence have since been restored. It is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and the location has been designated a Canadian National Historic Site. Cape Spear was also used recently for filming of a hockey game in the Canadian television series, Road Hockey Rumble.
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Categories
Geography of Newfoundland and Labrador | Headlands of Canada | Lighthouses in Canada