Costa da Morte

Costa da Morte (Galician pronunciation: [ˈkɔsta ða ˈmɔɾte], "Coast of Death") is part of the Spanish Galician coast. The Costa da Morte extends from the villages of Muros and Malpica.

The Costa da Morte received its name because there have been so many shipwrecks along its treacherous rocky shore. The shore of the Costa da Morte is exposed directly to the Atlantic Ocean. It is an area that has suffered a number of oil spills, including the spill from the Prestige in 2002.

The exterior cape region is known for anthropological, historical and geographical reasons. Its name in the Galician language is Fisterra, which descends from the Roman legend which held that this area was the end of the world (Finis-terrae). The area was largely Christianized by the Catholic Church with the aid of a large flux of Christian pilgrims arriving on the Way of St. James.

The people of the area still preserve pre-Christian Celtic ritual places and pass on some of the traditional beliefs. For example, there are giant pedras de abalar (i.e. "oscillating stones", the common term in English is rocking stone) throughout the region. These pedras de abalar were sacred Celtic locations and used in various rituals that are remembered in local culture. There is also a local legend that the wind creates wild nightmares.

The Costa da Morte includes Cape Finisterre (Spanish: Cabo Finisterre; Galician: Cabo Fisterra), a rock-bound peninsula in the uttermost west of Galicia, Spain.

Cape Finisterre is not the westernmost point of Spain, contrary to popular belief. This title belongs to Cape Touriñán, which is found just north of Finisterre. Still, Cape Touriñán is not the most western point of Continental Europe (that honour belongs to Cabo da Roca in Portugal). Finisterre's name, like that of Finistère in France, derives from the Latin "Finisterrae" which literally means "Land's End".

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