Cape Race is located on the south eastern tip of the Irish Loop, 10 km from Portugal Cove South, on highway 10. It’s home to the Myrick Interpretive Centre (seasonal), the Cape Race Lighthouse, and the Light Keepers who maintain the light station on 28-day shifts all year round. It also neighbors the UNESCO Fossil site located on the Mistaken Point ecological reserve, here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Cape Race Titanic connection is a story over 100 years in the making. On a fateful night in April of 1912, the Titanic, on her maiden voyage, struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic. and happened just 400 miles off the Newfoundland coast. In 1912, the Marconi Company had a wireless radio station, still in it’s infancy at the time, located in Cape Race. It was there that the first SOS signal was received and became the epicenter of the rescue mission during one of the worst nautical disasters of all time.
Cape Race National Historic Site
Built over 100 years ago, the Cape Race Lighthouse is a towering and impressive giant. A technological feat of its day, it’s one of the last hyper-radial Fresnel lens lighthouses in the world. Still operational, the lighthouse is tended for 28 day shifts year-round by Light Keepers who make it their home – hear stories of shipwrecks, local history, and experience authentic Newfoundland culture.