Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Cape Arago Lighthouse, Oregon

This lighthouse is located in Charleston, Oregon, 2.6 miles north of Cape Arago. While there were two preceding lighthouses on this site. However, because they constantly needed repairing and because sailors needed a better light, they were replaced by a third one, made of concrete and 44 ft. high. The present lighthouse was in first lit in 1934, automated in 1966, and deactivated in 2006.


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Lake McConaughy Lighthouse, Nebraska

This small lighthouse by a reservoir of the North Platte River is located in Nebraska. It is a 35 ft. round stone lighthouse with lantern and gallery situated on a bluff. The tower is unpainted and its lantern is painted black. Near the lighthouse is a small gazebo.

Lake McConaughy, the reservoir, was formed by damming the North Platte River in Keith County, north of Ogallala in western Nebraska. This lake is 22 miles long and approximately 4 miles wide.  



Wednesday, March 11, 2015

North Head Lighthouse, Washington

The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was a disappointment because it was obscured to ships approaching from the north by the headland extending southwest from the light. To solve this problem, a lighthouse was built at North Head, which faces the ocean directly and would be clearly visible to ships traveling from the north. The 65-foot (20 m) tower stood on a 130-foot (40 m) cliff. The lens was the first-order Fresnel lens from Cape Disappointment that was first lit in 1898.         
                                                                                       
In 1935, the first-order Fresnel lens was replaced by a fourth-order lens. That lens was. eventually replaced by an aerobeacon in the 1950s, and later by a modern optic mounted outside the tower. The light was automated in 1961. This lighthouse, as well as the Cape Disappointment lighthouse, is part of Cape Disappointment State Park.




Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Hunting Island Lighthouse, South Carolina

This striking lighthouse is located in Hunting Island State Park, near Beaufort, SC. It was activated in 1875, deactivated in 1933.  It has a 141 foot conical tower and a second-order Fresnel lens.  Presently it is open to sightseers who can climb the 167 steps to the top.