This cape forms the most northerly point of the continent of Europe, and
may be regarded as one of the wonders of nature. It is situated within
the arctic circle, in seventy-one degrees, ten minutes, north latitude.
It has been accurately described by a voyager, from whose account the
following particulars are extracted.
In approaching the cape, a little before midnight, its rocks at first
appeared to be nearly of an equal hight, until they terminated in a
perpendicular peak; but, on a nearer view, those within were found to be
much higher than those of the extreme peak, or point. Their general
appearance was highly picturesque. The sea, breaking against this
immovable rampart, which had withstood its fury from the remotest ages,
bellowed, and formed a thick border of white froth. This spectacle,
equally beautiful and grand, was illumined by the _midnight sun_; and
the shade which covered the western side of the rocks rendered their
aspect still more sublime and almost terrific. The hight of these rocks
could not be ascertained; but here everything was on so grand a scale,
that a point of comparison could not be afforded by any ordinary known
objects. On landing, the party discovered a grotto, formed of rocks, the
surface of which had been washed smooth by the waves, and having within
a spring of fresh water. The only accessible spot in the vicinity was a
hill, some hundred paces in circumference, surrounded by enormous crags.
From the summit of this hill, turning toward the sea, they perceived to
the right a prodigious mountain, attached to the cape, and rearing its
sterile mass to the skies. To the left, a neck of land, covered with
less elevated rocks, against which the surges dashed with violence,
closed the bay, and admitted but a limited view of the ocean. To see as
far as possible into the interior, our navigators climbed almost to the
summit of the mountain, where a most singular landscape presented itself
to the view. A lake in the foreground had an elevation of at least
ninety feet above the level of the sea; and on the top of an adjacent,
but less lofty mountain, was another lake. The view was terminated by
peaked rocks, checkered by patches of snow.
At midnight the sun still remained several degrees above the horizon,
and continued to ascend higher and higher till noon, when having again
descended, it passed the north, without dipping below the horizon. This
phenomenon, which is as extraordinary to the inhabitants of the torrid
and temperate zones, as snow is to the inhabitants of the torrid zone,
could not be viewed without a particular interest. Two months of
continued daylight, during which space the sun never sets, seem to place
the traveler in a new state of existence; while the effect on the
inhabitants of these regions is singular. During the time the sun is
perpetually above the horizon, they rise at ten in the morning, dine at
five or six in the evening, and go to bed at one. But, during the winter
season, when, from the beginning of December until the end of January,
the sun never rises, they sleep above half of the twenty-four hours, and
employ the other half in sitting over the fire, all business being at an
end, and a constant darkness prevailing. The cause of this phenomenon,
as it affects the northern and southern regions of the earth, may be
readily understood. The sun always illumines half the earth at once, and
shines on every side ninety degrees from the place where he is vertical.
When he is vertical over the equator, or equidistant from both poles, he
shines as far as each pole; and this happens in spring and autumn. But,
as he declines to the north in summer, he shines beyond the north pole,
and all the countries near that pole turn round in perpetual sunshine:
while at the same time, he leaves the south pole an equal number of
degrees, so that those parts turn round in darkness.