Cape Alava, in Clallam County, Washington, is the westernmost point in the contiguous 48 states, with a longitude of 124°43′59″W. The westernmost point is located in Olympic National Park. Cape Alava is accessible via a three mile one-way boardwalk hike from a ranger station in the park.

It was named after Spaniard Don José Manuel de Álava (born at Vitoria 1743-1-20), for his intervention in the solution of the conflict of Nootka in 1794 by Juan Vidal-Abarca

History

---

In early 1834, a Japanese ship, the Hojunmaru, made landfall at Cape Alava after a 14 months drift on the Pacific Ocean. It was supposed to bring rice to Edo, but was then carried away by a storm. At the time of arrival at Cape Alava, only three of its crew were alive. They were then looked after and briefly enslaved by Makah Indians.

See Otokichi for more information on this.

External links

---

• Hiking to Cape Alava from OutdoorDB.org

Cap Alava