Dondra Head Lighthouse

Dondra Head Lighthouse
	Dondra Head lighthouse
Location	Dondra Head ; Southern Province ; Sri Lanka
Coordinates	5°55′16.71″N80°35′38.73″E / 5.9213083°N 80.5940917°E Coordinates: 5°55′16.71″N80°35′38.73″E / 5.9213083°N 80.5940917°E
Tower
Constructed	1890
Construction	brick tower
Height	49 m (161 ft)
Shape	octagonal tower with balcony and lantern
Markings	white tower, yellow windows
Power source	mains electricity
Operator	Sri Lanka Ports Authority
Light
Focal height	47 metres (154 ft)
Lens	hyperradiant Fresnel lens
Range	28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi)
Characteristic	Fl W 5s.

Last updated May 18, 2022

Dondra Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Dondra Head, Dondra, the southernmost point in Sri Lanka and is Sri Lanka's tallest lighthouse,^[1] and also one of the tallest in South East Asia. Dondra Head lighthouse is operated and maintained by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

History

Dondra Head Lighthouse was designed by Sir James Nicholas Douglass, with construction, by William Douglass of the Imperial Lighthouse Service,^[1] commencing in November 1887.^[2] All the building materials including the bricks and steel were imported from England. The granite rock was supplied from quarries at Dalbeattie in Scotland and Penryn in Cornwall. The lighthouse was completed and commissioned in March 1890.^[2]^[3] The combined cost of erection of the lighthouse and the Barberyn Lighthouse was £30,000 and was paid for by dues collected at the Basses lighthouses.^[2]

Lens

Dondra Head was one of a limited number of lighthouses that were designed to house the large Hyperradiant Fresnel lenses that became available at the end of the 19th century. Four of these lenses were used in Sri Lankan lights, all made by Chance Brothers in England.^[4]

The rotating lens however was removed in 2020 and replaced by a static flashing LED light which has reduced the visibility range of the lighthouse considerably.

Features

The lighthouse is 49 m (161 ft) high^[3] and contains 7 floors, 14 two panel yellow colour windows and 196 steps to the top. Dondra Head is also one of four international lighthouse in Sri Lanka. It was modernized in 2000, with the introduction of a Differential Global Positioning System and is computer linked to the other major lighthouses around the coast.

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References

1 2 3 "Dondra Head Light". Lighthouse Explorer. Foghorn Publishing. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
1 2 3 de Silva, Rajpal Kumar (1998). 19th Century Newspaper Engravings of Ceylon - Sri Lanka. Serendib Publications. p. 1354. ISBN 0-9510710-2-5.
1 2 Rowlett, Russ (13 February 2006). "Lighthouses of Sri Lanka". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Retrieved 11 December 2014.
↑ "Hyper-Radial Lenses". United States Lighthouse Society. Retrieved 26 July 2016.

External links

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[LD-1] 1 2 3 "Dondra Head Light". Lighthouse Explorer. Foghorn Publishing. Retrieved 11 December 2014.

[Silva-2] 1 2 3 de Silva, Rajpal Kumar (1998). 19th Century Newspaper Engravings of Ceylon - Sri Lanka. Serendib Publications. p. 1354. ISBN 0-9510710-2-5.

[UNC-3] 1 2 Rowlett, Russ (13 February 2006). "Lighthouses of Sri Lanka". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Retrieved 11 December 2014.

[usls-4] "Hyper-Radial Lenses". United States Lighthouse Society. Retrieved 26 July 2016.

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