Cape Roca
| Cape Roca | |
|---|---|
| Cabo da Roca | |
The Cabo da Roca lighthouse, overlooking the promontory towards the Atlantic Ocean
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| Highest point | |
| Peak | Cabo da Roca (Sintra-Cascais Natural Park) |
| Elevation | 140 m (460 ft) |
| Coordinates | 38°46′51″N 9°30′2″W / 38.78083°N 9.50056°WCoordinates: 38°46′51″N 9°30′2″W / 38.78083°N 9.50056°W |
| Naming | |
| Etymology | roca Portuguese for sea cliff |
| Geography | |
 Cape Roca
Location of the Cabo da Roca in continental Portugal
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| Country |
 Portugal
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| Region | Lisboa |
| Subregion | Grande Lisboa |
| District | Lisbon |
| Parent range | Serra da Sintra |
Cabo da Roca (Cape Roca) is a cape which forms the westernmost extent of mainland Portugal and continental Europe (and by definition the Eurasian land mass). The cape is in the Portuguese municipality of Sintra, near Azóia, in the southwest of the district of Lisbon, forming the westernmost extent of the Serra de Sintra.
Cabo da Roca was known to the Romans as Promontorium Magnum and during the Age of Sail as the Rock of Lisbon.
The cape is located within the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, 42 kilometres west of the city of Lisbon and in the southwest of Sintra. A location (38°47′N 9°30′W / 38.783°N 9.500°W) is inscribed on a stone plaque, located on a monument at the site.
The western coast is a mixture of sand beaches and rocky cliff promontories: around Cabo da Roca, cliffs are more than 100 metres in height, and cut into crystalline rocks, composed of strongly folded and faulted sedimentary units. These forms are disturbed by dikes and small beaches. This promontory of "high" beaches is the extreme western immersion of the ancient eruptive Sintra massif, as evident from the rose-coloured granite in the north and syenite of the Ribeira do Louriçal in the south. In the vicinity of the Cape, there are geomorphological examples of gabbro-diorite, volcanic breccia, and granite.
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