Cape Horn, the headland of an island in the Fuegian archipelago, commonly regarded as the southern extremity of America. It is a steep, black rock with bare and lofty sides. It was probably first discovered by Sir Francis Drake, in 1578; but it was first doubled by the Dutch navigators Lemaire and Schouten in 1616, the latter of whom named it after his native town of Hoorn. The cape is no longer rounded by steamers, which now always pass through the Strait of Magellan.