A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
A Fresnel lens is a type of composite compact lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections.
The Nab Tower is a tower originally planned for anti-submarine protection in the English Channel in World War I. It was sunk over the Nab rocks east of the Isle of Wight to replace a lightship after the war, and is a well-known landmark for sailors as it marks the deep-water eastern entry into the Solent.
Marblehead Lighthouse in Marblehead, Ohio, United States, is the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the American side of the Great Lakes. It has guided sailors safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822, and is an active aid to navigation.
Point Pinos Lighthouse was lit on February 1, 1855, to guide ships on the Pacific Coast of California. It is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States and even the lens is original. Alcatraz Island Lighthouse preceded Point Pinos by eight months, but was replaced in 1909 by the expanding military prison. The Point Pinos Lighthouse is still an active United States Coast Guard aid to navigation. On-site museum exhibits and other lighthouse related functions are operated by the city of Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California. The lighthouse is surrounded by the Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links.
Wood Island Light is an active lighthouse on the eastern edge of Wood Island in Saco Bay, on the southern coast of Maine. The light is just outside the entrance to Biddeford Pool and the end of the Saco River. The lighthouse is a 47-foot (14 m) conical white tower of granite rubble. The light itself sits 71 feet (22 m) above mean high water. Its automated beacon alternates between green and white every 10 seconds.
Pendeen Lighthouse, also known as Pendeen Watch is an active aid to navigation located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the north of Pendeen in west Cornwall, England. It is located within the Aire Point to Carrick Du SSSI, the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Penwith Heritage Coast. The South West Coast Path passes to the south.
The Currituck Beach Light is a lighthouse located on the Outer Banks in Corolla, North Carolina. The Currituck Beach Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1973.
Raffles Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Pulau Satumu in the Singapore Strait, about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south of the main island of Singapore.
The New Presque Isle Light was built in 1870, at Presque Isle, Michigan, east of Grand Lake, and sits on the namesake peninsula. It is one of 149 lighthouses in Michigan, more than any other state. Because of changing shoreline particularly, or alternatively deterioration of the original building, it is not uncommon for a replacement lighthouse to be placed in the vicinity of an earlier light, in this case, the Old Presque Isle Light.
The Ponce de Leon Inlet Light is a lighthouse and museum located at Ponce de León Inlet in Central Florida. At 175 feet (53 m) in height, it is the tallest lighthouse in the state and one of the tallest in the United States. It is located between St. Augustine Light and Cape Canaveral Light. Restored by the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse Preservation Association, the lighthouse became a National Historic Landmark in 1998.
Destruction Island Lighthouse is a decommissioned lighthouse on Destruction Island, a rocky island that is part of the Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge lying about 3 miles (4.8 km) off the coast of Jefferson County, Washington, in the northwest of the United States.
The Harbor of Refuge Light is a lighthouse built on the ocean end of the outer Delaware Breakwater at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, just off Cape Henlopen. It was built to function with the Delaware Breakwater East End Light in order to mark the National Harbor of Refuge.
The Highland Light is an active lighthouse on the Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro, Massachusetts. The current tower was erected in 1857, replacing two earlier towers that had been built in 1797 and 1831. It is the oldest and tallest lighthouse on Cape Cod.
The Staten Island Range Light, also known as the Ambrose Channel Range Light, is the rear range light companion to the West Bank Lighthouse. Built in 1912, the 90-foot tower sits more than five miles northwest of the West Bank Lighthouse, on Staten Island’s Richmond Hill, 141 feet above sea level. It shows a fixed white light that can be seen for 18 miles, by all vessels bound to New York and New Jersey Ports coming in from the Atlantic Ocean.
Gay Head Light is a historic lighthouse located on Martha's Vineyard westernmost point off of Lighthouse Road in Aquinnah, Massachusetts.
The Makapuʻu Point Light on the island of Oʻahu has the largest lens of any lighthouse in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
An aerobeacon is a light assembly used to create a fixed or flashing signal visible over long distances. It consists of a high intensity electric lamp mounted with a focusing device in a cylindrical housing, which usually is rotated on a vertical axis by an electric motor. The sweep of the narrow beam thus produced gives the flashing effect. Aerobeacons were originally developed for aviation use, mostly as aerodrome beacons, but they also saw extensive use in lighthouses. They were far less expensive to manufacture and maintain than classic glass Fresnel lenses, and much more durable; they could be mounted and exposed to the weather. Historic models include the DCB-24, which used a single parabolic reflector; the DCB-224, a double-beamed version of the DCB-24; and the DCB-36, which used a system of plastic Fresnel type lenses. Manufacturers included Carlisle & Finch in Cincinnati and the Crouse-Hinds Company in Syracuse, New York. Aerobeacons have replaced fragile glass Fresnel lenses in many lighthouses and are still widely used in other applications.
Double Island Point Light is an active lighthouse located at the summit of Double Island Point, a coastal headland within the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park. It is located at the southern end of Wide Bay, 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia.
Pigeon Point Light Station or Pigeon Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse built in 1871 to guide ships on the Pacific coast of California. It is the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States. It is still an active Coast Guard aid to navigation. Pigeon Point Light Station is located on the coastal highway, 5 miles (8 km) south of Pescadero, California, between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. The 115-foot (35 m), white masonry tower, resembles the typical New England structure.
