North Cape (Prince Edward Island)

North Cape is a cape at the northwestern-most extremity of Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is located within the community of Seacow Pond.

North Cape is the dividing point for delineating the western limits of the Northumberland Strait from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as determined by the Canadian Hydrographic Service. A 2 km (1.2 mi) natural rock reef extends offshore from the cape. It is reportedly the longest natural rock reef composed of sedimentary rock in North America.

The Canadian Coast Guard maintains a lighthouse at the cape as a navigational aid beacon to warn mariners of the hazard posed by the reef. The Meteorological Service of Canada has a remote weather station adjacent to the lighthouse (ID - WNE).

During the summer, Irish moss seaweed is commercially harvested from the shores around North Cape and surrounding areas.

The land at North Cape is owned by the Government of Prince Edward Island. In recent decades the province has undertaken several initiatives to develop tourism facilities, namely a visitor information centre which interprets the natural history of the cape. There is also a gift shop and the "Wind and Reef" restaurant at the visitor centre.

The Black Marsh Nature Trail, which is a 5.5 kilometer trail that is open to the public, focuses on the fauna and flora of the area.

The Wind Energy Institute of Canada (WEICan), formerly known as the Atlantic Wind Test, is a wind energy research and testing facility immediately south of North Cape that conceived in the 1970s under a joint project between the Government of Canada and the Government of Prince Edward Island. Opened in 1980, the Atlantic Wind Test Site was located on the provincial government's property, it was established as a by-product of the 1970s energy crisis and was one of a number of renewable and alternative energy projects undertaken in Prince Edward Island at that time.

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