The peninsula is shaped like a human left hand starting from about the middle of the forearm with fingers forming a letter 'C'. Cañacao Bay is the body of water formed by the C-shaped upper peninsula. The thumb area was the historic old Port City of Cavite, the sister city and main seaport of the City of Manila. Because of deeper waters than the Port of Manila that was then located along the banks of Pasig River, the Port of Cavite became the staging and receiving area for the Manila galleon trade from 1565–1815. The port city used to be an island connected by a causeway to BarangaySan Roque as seen from the picture above and the map to the left. The land along the causeway was reclaimed in the late 1960s, and is now occupied by the San Sebastian College-Recoletos de Cavite. The tip of the thumb, known as the Cavite Punta or Cavite Point, was the location of the old Spanish shipyard where galleons were built. It later became Cavite Navy Yard during the American colonial rule. Bacoor Bay is the enclosed body of water formed by the eastern shore of the peninsula, starting from the tip of the thumb, circling to mainland Cavite province, continuing to the northern tip of Burunggoy Island.
Jurisdiction
The present and larger City of Cavite has jurisdiction over most of the peninsula. Only a tiny portion at the southernmost part belongs to the Noveleta Municipality. The Barangay Dalahican of Cavite City is the first settlement of the city from Noveleta while Barangay San Rafael IV is the last barangay of Noveleta. Barangay San Rafael IV is separated from Barangay Santa Isabel of Kawit town, by the Grande River , also known as the San Juan River. The location of the mouth of Grande River in Noveleta and where Kawit ends on the river, is technically the start of the peninsula, at the average tide level.
Northernmost point
The northernmost point of the Cavite Peninsula is also the northernmost point of the Province of Cavite located at the northern tip of the Danilo Atienza Air Base . For comparison, it is at the same latitude as the Parañaque Cathedral directly located to the east of the northernmost point, about further north than the northernmost point of Cavite mainland located near the mouth of Zapote River.
Accessibility
Only one two-lane road, San Juan Road, connects the peninsula and its communities to mainland Cavite. A faster alternative to the peninsula from Manila is the regular ferry service between the Cavite City Ferry Terminal behind the City Hall and the port near the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, a direct distance of about, linking the city to Metro Manila. The trip, which started on August 20, 2007, takes about 40 minutes compared to about 2 to 2.5 hours by land.
