Cape of Good Hope, rocky promontory at the southern end of Cape Peninsula, Western Cape province, South Africa. It was first sighted by the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias in 1488 on his return voyage to Portugal after ascertaining the southern limits of the African continent. One historical account says that Dias named it Cape of Storms and that John II of Portugal renamed it Cape of Good Hope (because its discovery was a good omen that India could be reached by sea from Europe); other sources attribute its present name to Dias himself.

Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, Western Cape province, South Africa. © PhotoSky 4t com/Shutterstock.com

Britannica Quiz Oceans Across the World: Fact or Fiction? The Indian Ocean is the world’s second-largest.

Known for the stormy weather and rough seas encountered there, the cape is situated at the convergence of the warm Mozambique-Agulhas current from the Indian Ocean and the cool Benguela current from Antarctic waters. Grass and low shrub vegetation is characteristic of the promontory, which is part of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve (established 1939) that encompasses the southern tip of the peninsula. There is a lighthouse on Cape Point about 1.2 miles (2 km) east of the Cape of Good Hope.