Cape Flattery, on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets the Pacific, is the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States and lies within the Makah Reservation. Named by James Cook on March 22, 1778, it became Washington’s oldest permanently named non-Native feature in written European geography. The cape is also linked to maritime history through the nearby lighthouse, Fuca Pillar, and the 1834 arrival of three Japanese castaways, the first known Japanese people to land in what is now Washington state. Today it remains significant for its dramatic setting, Indigenous presence, exploration history, and seafaring stories.