<P> The Cape Fear estuary drains the largest watershed in North Carolina, containing 27% of the state's population . </P> <P> Giovanni da Verrazzano, the Italian explorer sailing for France, made landfall after crossing the Atlantic at or near Cape Fear on March 1, 1524 . </P> <P> The name comes from the 1585 expedition of Sir Richard Grenville . Sailing to Roanoke Island, his ship became embayed behind the cape . Some of the crew were afraid they would wreck, giving rise to the name Cape Fear . It is the fifth - oldest surviving English place name in the U.S. </P> <P> Cape Fear was the landing place of General Sir Henry Clinton during the American Revolutionary War on May 3, 1775 . The 1962 film Cape Fear and its 1991 remake were set at Cape Fear . </P>

Where did the name cape fear come from
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