Cape Fear is a prominentheadland jutting into theAtlantic Ocean fromBald Head Island on the coast ofNorth Carolina in the southeasternUnited States. It is largely formed of barrier beaches and the silty outwash of theCape Fear River as it drains the southeast coast of North Carolina through anestuary south ofWilmington. Cape Fear is formed by the intersection of two sweeping arcs of shifting, low-lying beach, the result oflongshore currents which also form the treacherous, shiftingFrying Pan Shoals, part of theGraveyard of the Atlantic.
Dunes dominated bysea oats occur from the upper beach drift line back to the stable secondary dunes, where they mix with other grasses such assaltmeadow cordgrass andpanic grass, as well asseaside goldenrod,spurge and other herbs to form a stable salt-tolerantgrassland.
The Cape Fear estuary drains the largest watershed in North Carolina, containing 27% of the state's population.
Cape Fear acts as abreakpoint fortropical cyclone warnings and watches issued by theNational Hurricane Center.[1]
Giovanni da Verrazzano, the Italian explorer sailing forFrance, made landfall after crossing the Atlantic at or near Cape Fear on March 1, 1524.
The name comes from the 1585 expedition of SirRichard Grenville. Sailing toRoanoke Island, his ship became embayed behind the cape. Some of the crew were afraid they would wreck, giving rise to the name Cape Fear.[2] It is the fifth-oldest surviving English place name in the U.S.[3]
Cape Fear was the landing place of British GeneralSir Henry Clinton during theAmerican Revolutionary War on May 3, 1775.
The 1962 filmCape Fear and its1991 remake were set at Cape Fear.
33°50′26″N77°57′37″W / 33.84056°N 77.96028°W /33.84056; -77.96028
| Preceded by | Beaches of Southeastern North Carolina | Succeeded by |
