Seroe Colorado Lighthouse

Last updated
Lighthouse Seroe Colorado 22 43 41 975000.jpeg
Current lighthouse at Seroe Colorado
Seroe Colorado Lighthouse
LocationAruba OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Tower
Constructed1880
Construction
  • wood (1880)
  • stone (1925)
  • Iron (present)
Automated1925
Shape
Light
Characteristic Fl W 6s  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Seroe Colorado Lighthouse, known also by the Colorado Point Lighthouse, is located in Seroe Colorado. It stands as one of two currently active lighthouses on the island.

Contents

Geography

Seroe Colorado is the farthest southeastern point of the island and forms an approximately 38 metres (125 ft) high rounded plateau with an area of about 22 hectares (54 acres). On the eastern and southeastern sides of this steep cliff, it descends vertically towards the sea. On these steep rock walls, there is a tremendous surf, and from a distance, you can already see the white foam splashing high above the rocks, especially during strong trade winds. [1]

History

Aruba Phosphate Company at Seroe Colorado had a poorly equipped lighthouse in 1880. The tower had a square cross-section but tapered from the bottom to top. [2] This lighthouse had a petroleum lantern mounted on a wooden structure, [3] and the coastal lighting was inadequate. It was meant to serve as a beacon for passing ships but often emitted smoke, making it invisible even at a relatively short distance from the island. [4]

The original wooden tower was replaced with a stone tower and electric lighting in 1925. [3] However, much of the original construction no longer remains. [5]

The current lighthouse features: a light displayed at the top of an 8-metre-high (26 ft) tower, shielded by a wire cage. [6] With a focal height of 51 metres (167 ft) above sea level, the light can be seen for 21 nautical miles (39 km; 24 mi). [7] [8]

COLORADO LIGHTHOUSE.jpg
COLONY Seroe Lt House Schlageter.jpg
left: Automated stone lighthouse (c. 1938–1940) right: Lighthouse front view: green door with staircase, bottom third section of tower is painted in white and the top two thirds is exposed concrete (c. 1950s)

See also

Sources

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Nicolaas</span> Town in Aruba

San Nicolaas is 19 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Oranjestad, and is Aruba's second largest city. As of 2010 it has a population of 15,283, most of whom originate from the British Caribbean and rest of the Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

The California Lighthouse, known by locals as Faro stands tall on a limestone plateau at Hudishibana, near Arashi Beach and Sasariwichi dunes on the northwestern tip of Aruba. It holds the distinction of being the tallest structure in Aruba. This lighthouse derives its name from a British steamship, S.S. California, which sank in 1891, predating the lighthouse's construction. The lighthouse was specifically erected to prevent similar tragedies. In May 2016, the lighthouse underwent a restoration, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of its completion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seroe Colorado</span> Place in Aruba, Kingdom of the Netherlands

Seroe Colorado is a village situated at the southeastern tip of Aruba, an island located in the Ductch Caribbean. Nowadays, it is known for the Anchor in Memory to All Seamen. Historically, between 1878 and 1914, Seroe Colorado served as the location for the Colorado Guano Mine, which was involved in the extraction of guano. Additionally, the Seroe Colorado Lighthouse can be found in this village, serving as a prominent landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caves of Aruba</span>

Of the several caves of Aruba, three Aruban caves are well known, seen in deep crevices on the windward face of the island. All three of the caves are located in the Arikok National Park. The most prominent are Guadirikiri Cave, the Fontein Cave and the Huliba Cave. Nocturnal bats nestle in all these caves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lange Jaap</span> Lighthouse

Lange Jaap, also known as Kijkduin Light or Den Helder Light, is an active lighthouse near Fort Kijkduin in Huisduinen, Netherlands. At a height of 63.5 metres (208.2 ft) it is one of the tallest "traditional lighthouses" in the world. For almost a century, from 1878 to 1974, it was the tallest lighthouse in the Netherlands, until the construction of the Maasvlakte Light. According to The Lighthouse Directory it is the tallest non-skeletal cast-iron lighthouse in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond River Light</span> Lighthouse in New South Wales, Australia

Richmond River Light, also known as Ballina Head Light and Ballina Light, is an active lighthouse located at Ballina Head, a headland in Ballina, New South Wales, Australia. The headland is at the northern side of the entrance to the Richmond River. It used to serve to guide ships into the river port and is used also serves as a leading light into the river, together with a steamer's masthead lantern with a 200 mm lens which is raised on a wooden structure 30 metres (98 ft) from it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Channel Pile Light</span> Lighthouse in New South Wales, Australia

Western Channel Pile Light, also known as the West Wedding Cake due to its shape, is an active pile lighthouse located at the Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, off Georges Head at Mosman. It marks the western end of the Sow and Pigs Reef. It collapsed in December 2006 and was reconstructed and restored to operation in December 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dent Island Light</span> Lighthouse

Dent Island Light is an active lighthouse on Dent Island, a small island off the coast of Queensland, Australia, part of the Whitsunday Group of the Whitsunday Islands. Located on the southwest tip of the island, the light guides ships navigating the Whitsunday Passage, between Whitsunday Island and the islands to the west, and marks the Dent Island Passage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creal Reef Light</span> Lighthouse

Creal Reef Light is an active lighthouse located at Creal Reef, a planar reef about 150 kilometres (93 mi) east of Mackay, Queensland, Australia. It guides ships outgoing from Mackay into Hydrographers Passage, a deep water channel east of Mackay. The structure is a stainless steel tower, which also serves as a daymark and carries a racon.

Wharton Reef Light is an inactive lighthouse which used to be located on Wharton Reef in Princess Charlotte Bay off the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. When it was deactivated in 1990 it was donated to the Townsville Maritime Museum and it is now on display near the museum. It is the only survivor of a series of twenty automatic lighthouses installed in Queensland during the "Golden Age of Australian Lighthouses" from 1913 to the early 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nieuwe Sluis</span> Lighthouse

Nieuwe Sluis is a Dutch lighthouse in the Nieuwesluis community, a few kilometres west of Breskens, Zeeland, and the southernmost in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lågskär Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

Lågskär Lighthouse is an automated lighthouse located on the north side of Lågskär, one of Finland's Åland in the Sea of Åland of the Baltic. It is the only striking feature on Lågskär on the generally uninhabited island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punta de Anaga Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse on Tenerife, Spain

The Punta de Anaga Lighthouse is an active lighthouse on the Canary island of Tenerife, in the municipality of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Punta de Anaga is the most northerly point on the island, and is where the Anaga mountain range meets the sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arenas Blancas Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse on La Palma, Spain

The Arenas Blancas Lighthouse is an active lighthouse on the Canary island of La Palma in the municipality of Villa de Mazo, near the village of La Salemera. The larger settlement of Mazo lies 8 km (5.0 mi) to the north-west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punta Sardina Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse on Gran Canaria, Spain

The Punta Sardina Lighthouse is an active lighthouse on the Canary island of Gran Canaria. It is located north of the small town of Sardina, in the municipality of Gáldar. The Punta Sardina light marks the north-western extremity of the island, and lies between the Punta del Castillete lighthouse near Puerto de Mogán to the south and the La Isleta lighthouse of Las Palmas to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto de la Cruz Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse on Tenerife, Spain

The Puerto de la Cruz Lighthouse is an active lighthouse in Puerto de la Cruz on the northern coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. This modern lighthouse is situated within a seafront car park, to the west of the small port in the town. It is one of seven lighthouses which mark the coastline of Tenerife, and lies between two other modern lighthouses of Punta del Hidalgo to the northeast, and Buenavista to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackhead Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

Blackhead Lighthouse is a listed lighthouse built at the turn of the 20th century, near Whitehead in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It marks the very northern end of Belfast Lough where it opens out into the North Channel that separates Northern Ireland and Scotland. The active lighthouse is managed by the Commissioners of Irish Lights, where it is named as the Blackhead Antrim Lighthouse to distinguish it from the more modern Blackhead lighthouse in County Clare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rivingen Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

Rivingen Lighthouse is a coastal lighthouse in the municipality of Grimstad in Agder county, Norway. The lighthouse was first established in 1886 on a small island at the southern approach to the harbour of the town of Grimstad. The original lighthouse had an attached keeper's house, but in 1925 that lighthouse tower was closed and a new, much smaller tower was built about 23 metres (75 ft) to the north-northwest of the old tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aruba Phosphate Company</span> Guano industry of Aruba (1879–1914)

The discovery of guano on Klein Curaçao by John Godden in 1871, sparked a "guano mania" across the Antillean islands, including Curaçao. In 1874, J. H. Waters Gravenhorst is credited with the discovery of guano in Aruba, although an earlier interest was shown by an American named S.R. Kimball in 1859. The exact outcome of Kimball's efforts remains uncertain. This ultimately led to the incorporation of a limited company on Curaçao, known as Aruba Phosphate Company on December 18, 1879.

References

12°25′06″N69°52′09″W / 12.41845°N 69.86917°W / 12.41845; -69.86917