Everything Everywhere Daily · Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Cape Bojador presented significant navigational hazards, including shallow reefs, turbulent seas, and heavy fog caused by the collision of desert heat and ocean currents. These conditions contributed to sailor's fears and legends of the ocean boiling, making it a major psychological and practical barrier to exploration.
“A major obstacle to achieving this was Cape Bojador, located just south of Morocco, one of the locations at the edges of conventional maps of the era. The rounding of Cape Bojador doesn't receive much attention today because it really doesn't seem like that big of a deal. But at the time, it was a huge problem.”
“Cape Bojador's coast offers some of the most dangerous sailing conditions in the world. The shallow rocky reefs produced incredibly turbulent seas, and the constant pounding produced a white frothing foam, which made the ocean appear as if it were boiling. To make matters worse, the scorching dry heat of the Sahara Desert collided directly with the cold moist Atlantic currents, producing a heavy fog.”