Colonial Despatches

This weather-beaten point is the farthest northwest of contiguous US land; it is where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets the Pacific Ocean. On March 22, 1778, Captain James Cook (1728-1779) gave the point its English name, in reference to its flattering prospect of a forthcoming strait—the Juan de Fuca.1

Cape Flattery makes up a part of the Makah Reservation. The Makah traversed these rough waters to hunt and fish in a variety of canoes, from cargo to sailing designs.2

• 1. James Cook, Captain Cook's Three Voyages Around the World (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1880), 509.
• 2. Our History, Home of the Makah People: Our History.