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Dangerous Waters: Cape Horn
Cape Horn stands as one of the most feared corners of the globe. Offshore winds, channeled between the Andes mountains and the peninsula roar furiously reaching hurricane force. Steady 'normal' wall waves from the Antarctica Convergence produce regular swells of 20-40 feet. This combination gives rise to huge waves, add icebergs and floating ice fragments during the austral spring and summer...heave-ho!
Sources: Lots.....Britannica, NASA, Wikipedia, Global Maritime History site, and me
Knowing the maritime exploration history of Portugal, England, Spain and the Dutch will greatly aid
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Last updated: March 14, 2026
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| First submitted | November 21, 2025 |
| Times taken | 4 |
| Average score | 40.0% | Report this quiz | Report |
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1. What country's captain first successfully rounded and named Cape Horn?
The cape was first discovered in 1616 by Willem Schouten, a Dutch navigator, and was named after the Dutch city of Hoorn.
Portuguese
Dutch
British
Spanish
2. Sailors who crewed and survived the rounding of Cape Horn earned privileges. What privilege did they NOT earn?
Wearing a hooped gold earring in the left ear
To bring a black cat on the next voyage to bring luck
Allowed to put one foot on a table in a tavern
Tattoo of a fully rigged ship
3. What infamouse captain retreated eastward from the Horn adding thousands of miles to the voyage, ultimately disaffecting the crew to mutiny? (All captains provoked mutinies.)
Mutiny on the Bounty, pretty famous
James Cook
William Bligh
Hugh Pigot
Ferdinand Magellan
4. Major transportation advancements came in the 20th century. What had the most impact on traversing the Atlantic to Pacific trade routes? (All answers played a part)
Steamships
Telegraphy Communications
Panama Canal
USA Transcontinental RailRoad
5. Two powerful ocean currents converge and collide creating steady 'normal' wall waves upwards 40 feet. What are the converging currents?
Called the Antarctic Convergence creating swells from cold Antarctic waters meeting the warm Brazilian currentld water temperatures and dramatic seabed changes.
Ross Gyres and the Polar Front
South Pacific and South Atlantic
Antarctic Circumpolar and Brazil
Chilean and Argentina Coastals
6. What captain didn't navigate Cape Horn but did first discover it?
Spanish navigator Francisco de Hoces in 1525 and Sir Francis Drake in 1578 were both blown south to the cape while navigating the Strait of Magellan. They both got the hell out.
Francisco de Hoces (Spanish)
Vasco de Gama (Portuguese)
Francis Drake (English)
Ferdinance Magellan (Portuguese)
7. What is the prime factor to the ferocity and danger of rounding the Horn? (All answers are factors)
The Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties and Screaming Sixties winds from the Southern Latitudes build on the normal current waves, creating larger waves and turbulence.
Converging Currents
Icebergs
Waves
Southern Latitude Winds
8. What trade product was not an underlying driver for European colonizations in Asia?
Gold was sought in the Americas, spice in Java, tea in India, silk in China.
Gold
Spice
Tea
Silk
9. What European Empire established an eastern maritime route to Java and dominated spice trade in the 17th century?
The route was devised by the Dutch explorer Hendrik Brouwer in 1611, and found to halve the duration of the journey from Europe to Java,
Spanish Empire
French Empire
Dutch Empire
British Empire
10. What presented the largest navigational problem when crossing open oceans?
HIghly recommend reading the book 'Longitude' by David Sobel. Latitude can be determined by the sun, at least during the day.
Determining Latitude
Finding a trusted oceanic map
Determining Vessel Speed
Determining Longitude
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