Cape

Geography

A cape is a coastal landform extending beyond the adjacent coast into the sea or a lake. A cape is usually more than just a headland and peninsula, having considerable effects on the directions of ocean currents around them.

The most important capes :

• Cape Agulhas - South Africa
• Cape Arkona - Germany
• Cape Canaveral - Florida
• Cape Cod - Massachusetts
• Cape Dezhnev - Russia
• Cape of Good Hope - South Africa
• Cape Horn - Chile
• Cape Leeuwin - Australia
• Cape St. Vincent
• Cape Verde - a republic
• Cape York - Australia
• North Cape - Norway
• South East Cape - Australia
• Cape Wrath - Scotland

Clothing

A cape is also an article of clothing, and can be used to describe any sleeveless outer garment, such as a poncho. They were common in medieval Europe, and have periodic returns to fashion, for example in nineteenth century Europe. They remain in regular use as rainwear in various military units and police forces, for example in France and the United Kingdom. Perhaps for this reason, capes became associated with fascism in Italy during the 1920s. A gas cape was a voluminous military garment designed to give rain protection to someone wearing the bulky gas masks used in twentieth century wars.

Superheroes, vampires, and the like are often depicted wearing capes, and they are therefore sometimes adopted by those with superheroic or vampiric pretensions.