Cape Bonavista

Cape Bonavista, elevation 15-30 m, is the bare, rocky extremity of the Bonavista Peninsula, north of the town of Bonavista in eastern Newfoundland. Traditionally thought of as the landfall (1497) of John Cabot (who is said to have named it), from 1713 to 1783 it was the southern terminus of the French Shore. One of Newfoundland's earliest lighthouses was built here in 1843 and declared a provincial historic site in 1978 (see also Cape Bonavista Lighthouse). It was subsequently restored and opened as a museum.