LIGHTHOUSES

LIGHTHOUSESa tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and

used as a navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.

Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, safe entries to harbors, and can also assist in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the

number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance and replacement by

modern electronic navigational systems.

History

Before the development of clearly defined ports mariners were guided by fires built on hilltops.

Since raising the fire would improve the visibility, placing the fire on a platform became a

practice that led to the development of the lighthouse. In antiquity, the lighthouse

functioned more as an entrance marker to ports than as a warning signal for reefs and 

promontories, unlike many modern lighthouses. The most famous lighthouse structure from

antiquity was the Pharos of Alexandria, although it collapsed during an earthquake centuries later.

Famous lighthouse builders

John Smeaton -have designed the third and most famous 

Eddystone Lighthouse but some builders are well known for their work in building multiple lighthouses.

The Stevenson family (Robert, Alan, David, Thomas, David Alan, and Charles) - made lighthouse building a three generation profession in Scotland.

USA LIGHTHOUSES

St. Augustine LightThe St. Augustine Light is an active lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. The current lighthouse stands at the north end of Anastasia Island and was built in 1874; it is the most recent of a number of towers built in the area.

Cape Henry Light

The Cape Henry Lighthouse has long been important for the large amount of ocean-going shipping traffic for the harbors, its rivers, and shipping headed to ports on the Chesapeake Bay. 

Boston Light

Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in outer Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The first lighthouse to be built on the site dates back to 1716, and was the first lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States.

Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light is a historic lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The light station sits on a head of land at the entrance of the primary shipping channel into Portland Harbor, which is within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine.

Portland Breakwater Light

The Portland Breakwater Light is a small lighthouse in South Portland, Maine. The lighthouse's flashing red beacon helped guide ships from Casco Bay through the entrance to Portland Harbor.

EUROPE LIGHTHOUSES

Cordouan Lighthouse

Cordouan lighthouse is an active lighthouse located 7 km at sea, near the mouth of the Gironde estuary in France. At a height of 223 feet it is the tenth tallest "traditional lighthouse" in the world.

Vinga Lighthouse

Vinga Lighthouse, is a Swedish lighthouse on Vinga island built in 1890. But Vinga has been an important island for sea travelers for a long time. The lighthouse in use now is the third one on the island.

Needles Lighthouse

The Needles Lighthouse was built by Trinity House in 1859 on the outermost of the chalk rocks near sea level. Designed by James Walker, it cost £20,000.

Esha Ness Lighthouse

Esha Ness Lighthouse is situated on the Northmavine peninsula in the north-west of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It sometimes rendered as Eshaness Lighthouse.

Sumburgh Head Lighthouse

Sumburgh Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Sumburgh Head at the southern tip of the Mainland of Shetland. The lighthouse was built by Robert Stevenson in 1821. 

AFRICA’S LIGHTHOUSE

Green Point Lighthouse, Cape Town

The Green Point Lighthouse, Cape Town is an operational lighthouse on the South African coast, first lit on 12 April 1824.

Cape Agulhas Lighthouse

The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse is situated at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. It was the third lighthouse to be built in South Africa, and the second-oldest still operating, after Green Point.

Milnerton Lighthouse

The Milnerton Lighthouse, commissioned on 1960-03-10, is located on Table Bay shore in Milnerton, South Africa. It's red sector covers Robben Island.

Lighthouse of Alexandria

he Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria, was a lofty tower built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom between 280 and 247 BC and between 393 and 450 ft tall.

Lighthouse of Port Said

The Lighthouse of Port Said is one of the most important architectural and tourist landmarks in the city of Port Said in Egypt.

LATIN AMERICA

Punta Tuna Light

Punta Tuna Light is a historic lighthouse located in the southeast of the town of Maunabo, Puerto Rico on a sharp promontory at the southeastern most point of the island. It was first lit in 1892 and automated in 1989.

Cape San Juan Light

Cape San Juan Light is a historic lighthouse located on the northeastern part of the highest point of Cape San Juan in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. The lighthouse was constructed in 1880 and was officially lit on May 2, 1882.

Mona Island Light

Mona Island Light, also known as Faro de la Isla de la Mona, is a historic lighthouse located on the island of Mona, Puerto Rico, in the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. 

Puerto Ferro Light

Puerto Ferro Light, also known as Faro de Puerto Ferro, is a historic lighthouse located in the Vieques, Puerto Rico. The light was first lit in 1896. It is one of the last minor or local lights to be built by the Spanish government. 

Caja de Muertos Light

Caja de Muertos Light, is an 1887 lighthouse in Ponce, Puerto Rico, that is unique amongst all other lighthouses in Puerto Rico for its unusual Cross of Lorraine, double-arm, T-type shape structure. 

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