Cape Spear: Located southeast of St. John's, of all the capes in Newfoundland and Labrador, this is most likely the best known.

Many visitors to Newfoundland, and to St John's in particular, make a special attempt to visit the lighthouse at the cape, as this is the most easterly point of land in North America (excluding Greenland) at longitude 520 37' 25" W and it is there that one can see the earliest sunrise, and, as an added "benefit" to the tourist, it is only a 12 km (7.5 mi) from the capital.

The most easterly point of land in continental North America is at Cape St. Charles in Labrador (longitude 55°37'15" W).

Cape Spear has had a number of "variations" in its name; the Portuguese referred to it as Cabo da Esperança (translated as The Cape of Hope or Good Hope, the French as Cap d'Espoir and the Spanish as Cauo de la Spera, and eventually by the English as Cape Spear.

The first lighthouse on the cape was built between 1834 and 1836 and on September 1, 1830, a light which had been in use in Scotland since 1815 was lit for the first time. It consisted of seven reflectors each having its own lamp that used sperm whale oil as its source of fuel.

In 1841 seal oil replaced sperm whale oil and eventually in 1874, kerosene was the fuel of choice. As early experience had shown at other lighthouses, the light was not always visible due to thick fog, which was quite common particularly in the winter, so fog horns were gradually introduced.

The first steam foghorn at Cape Spear became operational in 1878. Because of its location near the convoy routes of World War II, the cape was a strategic point in the Battle of the Atlantic.

A battery and garrison were built, along with bunkers, underground passages and was manned with two 10-inch guns. All that remains today of the outpost are some of the original bunker structure.

Used with permission from "Uncovering the Origin of 1001 Unique Place Names in Newfoundland and Labrador" 2021 Jennifer Leigh Hill