Cape May
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the body of land between Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
- For the city named after it, see Cape May, New Jersey, for the county, see Cape May County, New Jersey. For other uses, see Cape May (disambiguation).
Cape May is a peninsula, the southern tip of which is the southernmost point of the state of New Jersey, United States. It runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is named for Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, a Dutch explorer who was working for the Dutch East India Company.
The city of Cape May, located in the south of the peninsula, is the oldest seaside resort in America, with historical roots dating back to the 1700s.[1] The entire city was designated as a National Historic Landmark on May 11, 1976, and many of the buildings throughout the town are original Victorian structures that have been maintained in pristine condition.[2] Many people go to Cape May for tourism, shopping, and for the beach.
The peninsula comprises the municipalities of Middle Township, Avalon, Dennis Township, Stone Harbor, North Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood, Lower Township, and Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. The region is a popular destination for Québécois tourists.[3]
Cape May is also famous as one of the top birding sites in North America. Due to its location at the southern tip of New Jersey and numerous nature preserves and wildlife refuges, large concentrations of birds can be found in Cape May, especially during spring and fall migration. The Cape May Bird Observatory acts as the central coordinator of birding activities in Cape May, including the World Series of Birding, held in Cape May (and throughout New Jersey) each May.
The Basic Training camp of the United States Coast Guard is located in Cape May. This facility in Cape May, is the only training center for the United States Coast Guard in the country. Each recruit goes through eight weeks of training before they are shipped out to various locations.
[edit] References
- ^ Howard, Beth. "A SAMPLING OF HOUSE TOURS ACROSS NATION", The New York Times, March 29, 1987. Accessed October 12, 2007. "The nation's oldest seashore resort, Cape May, N.J., is noted for its Victorian gingerbread architecture."
- ^ LIST OF NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS BY STATE, National Parks Service, July 2007. Accessed October 12, 2007.
- ^ Lawlor, Julia. "Back From the North, and the Water Feels Magnifique", The New York Times, August 5, 2007. Accessed September 29, 2007. "Tourism officials and hotel owners in this Cape May County resort began noticing an increase in the number of French Canadian visitors in the summer of 2005, after a prolonged scarcity caused by a weak Canadian dollar and high unemployment in Quebec."
