Isle Royale Light

Last updated
Isle Royale Light
(Menagerie Island Light)
Isle Royale Light.JPG
The light in 2004
Isle Royale Light
LocationMenagerie Island, Houghton Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan
Coordinates 47°56′52.44″N88°45′40.32″W / 47.9479000°N 88.7612000°W / 47.9479000; -88.7612000
Tower
Constructed1875
FoundationRock
ConstructionRed Sandstone
Automated1913
Heightheight - 61 feet (19 m)
Shape Octagonal
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Light
First lit1875
Focal height74 feet (23 m)
LensFourth order Fresnel Lens (original), 12-inch (300 mm) Tideland Signal Acrylic optic (ML-300) (current)
Range8.7 nautical miles; 16 kilometres (10 mi)
Characteristic Fl W 6s
Isle Royale Light Station
Nearest city Isle Royale, Michigan
Built1875
MPS U.S. Coast Guard Lighthouses and Light Stations on the Great Lakes TR
NRHP reference No. 83000880 [1]
Added to NRHPAugust 04, 1983

The Isle Royale Light, or Menagerie Island Light, is a lighthouse within Isle Royale National Park, in Keweenaw County, northern Michigan, United States.

Contents

Description

Isle Royale Lighthouse USCGIsleroyale.jpg
Isle Royale Lighthouse

It is located in Lake Superior on Menagerie Island, the most easterly of the group of small islands at the opening of Siskiwit Bay, near the southern shore of Isle Royale.

The light's residence has steel shutters for protection from stormwater damage, as this portion of Lake Superior has very severe storms. [2]

History

The Isle Royale Light was built in 1875 of red sandstone, as a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse. [3]

It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper Harbor, Michigan</span> Census-designated place & unincorporated community in Michigan, United States

Copper Harbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Grant Township. The population of the CDP was 136 as of the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Harbor (Michigan)</span> Natural inlet on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, United States

Rock Harbor is the main access point for visitors landing on Isle Royale in northern Lake Superior. It sits four miles (6.4 km) from the northeastern end of the 45-mile-long (72 km) island, the whole of which is protected as Isle Royale National Park. Two structures in Rock Harbor—the Rock Harbor Light and the Edisen Fishery—are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granite Island Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Because it was positioned near the busy shipping lanes of the mid-19th century, a lighthouse was built on Granite Island in 1868 by the U.S. Lighthouse Board and commissioned in 1869.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Keweenaw County, Michigan</span>

The following is a list of Registered Historic Places in Keweenaw County, Michigan.
     This National Park Service list is complete through NPS recent listings posted July 19, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ile Aux Galets Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Ile Aux Galets Light, also known as Skillagalee Island Light, is located on Ile Aux Galets, a gravelly, low-lying island in northeast Lake Michigan, between Beaver Island and the mainland, approximately 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Cross Village in Emmet County, Michigan. Along with nearby Grays Reef, Waugoshance, and White Shoal Lights, it warns shipping away from the reefs and shoals of Waugoshance Point, which pose an imminent hazard to navigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeTour Reef Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The DeTour Reef Light is a non-profit-operated lighthouse marking the southern entrance of the DeTour Passage between the eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Drummond Island. The light is an automated active aid to navigation. It marks the northern end of Lake Huron. The passage is used by almost all of the Great Lakes commercial freighter traffic moving to and from Lake Superior, with approximately 5,000 vessel movements annually. It is said to be "the gateway to Lake Superior." In addition, many recreational boaters use the passage. The Light is located in Lake Huron, three miles (5 km) south of the nearest town, DeTour Village, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mendota (Bete Grise) Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Mendota Light, also known as the Bete Grise light, was built on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan to facilitate travel between Lake Superior and Lac La Belle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Au Sable Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Au Sable Light is an active lighthouse in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore west of Grand Marais, Michigan off H-58. Until 1910, this aid to navigation was called "Big Sable Light".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Round Island Light, Michigan</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Round Island Light, also known as the Old Round Island Point Lighthouse, is a lighthouse located on the west shore of Round Island in the shipping lanes of the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It was deemed necessary because the island is a significant hazard to navigation in the straits, and was seen as an effective complement to the other lights in the area. Because of its color scheme and form — red stone base and wood tower — it has been likened to an old-fashioned schoolhouse. Ferries regularly pass it on their way to Mackinac Island, and it is a recognizable icon of the upper Great Lakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper Harbor Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Copper Harbor Light is a lighthouse located in the harbor of Copper Harbor, Michigan USA on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan inside Fort Wilkins Historic State Park. It is a Michigan State Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menominee Pier Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Menominee North Pier lighthouse is located in the harbor of Menominee, Michigan. The station was first lit in 1877. The current structure and its still operational light was lit in 1927, and automated in 1972. It is also sometimes called the "Menominee (Marinette) North Pierhead Light".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Martin Island Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

St. Martin Island Light is an exoskeleton lighthouse on St. Martin Island. It marks one of four passages between Lake Michigan and the bay of Green Bay. Constructed in 1905, this light tower is the only example in the US of a pure exoskeletal tower on the Great Lakes. Similar designs exist in Canada. Painted white, the hexagonal tower is made of iron plates which are supported by six exterior steel posts that have latticed buttresses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poe Reef Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Poe Reef is a lighthouse located at the east end of South Channel between Bois Blanc Island and the mainland of the Lower Peninsula, about 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Cheboygan, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Island East Channel Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Grand Island East Channel Light is a lighthouse located just north of Munising, Michigan and was intended to lead boats from Lake Superior through the channel east of Grand Island into the Munising Harbor. Constructed of wood, the light first opened for service in 1868. The light was very hard to see from Lake Superior, and light maintenance was very difficult so the Munising Range Lights were constructed and this light was removed from service in 1908 or 1913.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock of Ages Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Rock of Ages Light is a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse on a small rock outcropping approximately 2.25 miles (3.62 km) west of Washington Island and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of Isle Royale, in Eagle Harbor Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan. It is an active aid to navigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Round Island Passage Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Round Island Passage Light is an automated, unmanned lighthouse located in the Round Island Channel in the Straits of Mackinac, Michigan. The channel is a branch of Lake Huron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Harbor Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Rock Harbor Lighthouse is a light station located in Rock Harbor on Isle Royale National Park, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gull Rock Light Station</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Gull Rock Light Station is an active lighthouse located on Gull Rock, just west of Manitou Island, off the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. The light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, even as its condition deteriorated, resulting in its placement on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passage Island Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Passage Island Light Station is a lighthouse located 3.25 mi (5.23 km) NE of Isle Royale, in NW Lake Superior, Michigan on Passage Island. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. personal notes from GLLKA tour guides
  3. Seeing the Light, Menagerie Island Lightcomprehensive history of the Isle Royale Light, documented by Terry Pepper.
Isle Royale shipwrecks Lake Superior.jpg
Isle Royale Lighthouse (lower center), on Menagerie Island at the opening of Siskiwit Bay in Isle Royale National Park