Cape Foulweather sits about 500 feet above the Oregon coast on a basalt cliff overlooking whale-rich kelp beds. It was the first North American landing spot for Captain James Cook on his third voyage in the Pacific. Cook was widely known for his violent, tyrannical approach to the Indigenous people he encountered.
Captain James Cook stumbled on the site on March 7, 1778. His journal entry from the day reads: “The land appeared to be of moderate height, diversified with hill and Valley and almost everywhere covered with wood. There was nothing remarkable about it except one hill.... At the northern extreme the land formed a point which I called Cape Foulweather from the very bad weather we soon after met with.”
The region was inhabited by Native Americans including the Tillamook people, who traditionally lived in an area that extended from Tillamook Head in northwest Oregon to Cape Foulweather in the south.
Cape Foulweather can be found near the Devil’s Cauldron (the name of the nearby bay) and the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. The site, which is a popular tourist destination because of the beautiful scenery, consists of an open overlook and a small gift shop near the coast. When the weather turns bad—and it often does—visitors can take cover in the gift shop, which has cliff-side panoramic windows overlooking the water and kelp beds. Due to COVID, the gift shop has remained closed for several months.
