Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.[2][3][4] The lighthouse's semi-unique pattern makes it easy to recognize and famous. It is often ranked high on lists of most beautiful, and famous lighthouses in the US.
The Outer Banks are a group of
Hatteras Island Visitor Center and Museum of the Sea
Adjacent to the Cape Hatteras Light is the Hatteras Island Visitor Center and Museum of the Sea, operated by the National Park Service, which is located in the historic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Double Keepers' Quarters. Exhibits include the history, maritime heritage and natural history of the Outer Banks and the lighthouse. The visitor center offers information about the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, ranger programs and a bookstore.
History
Original lighthouse
On July 10, 1794, after
The Cape Hatteras light marked very dangerous shoals that extend from the cape for a distance of 10 nautical miles (19 km). The original tower was built of dark sandstone and retained its natural color. The original light consisted of 18 lamps; with 14-inch (360 mm) reflectors, and was 112 feet (34 m) above sea level. It was visible in clear weather for a distance of 18 miles (29 km).
In July 1851, Lt. David D. Porter, USN, reported as follows:
"Hatteras light, the most important on our coast is, without doubt, the worst light in the world. Cape Hatteras is the point made by all vessels going to the south, and also coming from that direction; the current of the Gulf Stream runs so close to the outer point of the shoals that vessels double as close round the breakers as possible, to avoid its influence. The only guide they have is the light, to tell them when up with the shoals; but I have always had so little confidence in it, that I have been guided by the lead, without the use of which no vessel should pass Hatteras. The first nine trips I made I never saw Hatteras light at all, though frequently passing in sight of the breakers, and when I did see it, I could not tell it from a steamer's light, excepting that the steamer's lights are much brighter. It has improved much latterly but is still a wretched light. It is all-important that Hatteras should be provided with a revolving light of great intensity, and that the light is raised 15 feet (4.6 m) higher than at present. Twenty-four steamship's lights, of great brilliancy, pass this point in one month, nearly at the rate of one every night (they all pass at night) and it can be seen how easily a vessel may be deceived by taking a steamer's light for a light onshore."
The improvement in the light referred to had begun in 1845 when the reflectors were changed from 14 to 15-inch (380 mm). In 1848 the 18 lamps were changed to 15 lamps with 21-inch (530 mm) reflectors and the light had become visible in clear weather at a distance of 20 miles (32 km). In 1854 a first-order Fresnel lens with flashing white light was substituted for the old reflecting apparatus, and the tower was raised to 150 feet (46 m).
In 1860 the Lighthouse Board reported that Cape Hatteras Lighthouse required protection, due to the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1862 the Board reported "Cape Hatteras, lens and lantern destroyed, light reexhibited.
Second lighthouse
At the behest of mariners and officers of the U.S. Navy, Congress appropriated $80,000 to the United States Lighthouse Board to construct a new beacon at Cape Hatteras in 1868.[7]
Completed in just under two years under the direction of
In the spring of 1879 the tower was struck by lightning. Cracks subsequently appeared in the masonry walls, which were remedied[clarification needed] by placing a metal rod to connect the iron work of the tower with an iron disk sunk in the ground. In 1912 the candlepower of the light was increased from 27,000 to 80,000.
Ever since the completion of the new tower in 1870, there had begun a very gradual encroachment of the sea upon the beach. This did not become serious, however, until 1919, when the high water line had advanced to about 120 ft (36.5) from the base of the tower. Since that time the surf gnawed steadily toward the base of the tower until 1935, when the site was finally reached by the surf. Several attempts were made to arrest this erosion, but dikes and breakwaters had been of no avail. In 1935, therefore, the tower light was replaced by an Aerobeacon atop a four-legged steel skeleton tower, placed farther back from the sea on a sand dune 166 feet (51 m) above the sea, visible for 19 miles (31 km). The abandoned brick tower was then put in the custody of the National Park Service.
The
The new light consisted of a 36-inch (0.91 m) aviation-type rotating beacon of 250,000 candlepower, visible 20 miles (32 km), and flashing white every 7.5 seconds. The steel skeleton tower, known as the Buxton Woods Tower, was retained by the Coast Guard in the event that the brick tower again became endangered by erosion requiring that the light again be moved.
The light displays a highly visible black and white diagonal
Relocation
In 1999, with the sea again encroaching, the Cape Hatteras lighthouse had to be
The Cape Hatteras Light House Station Relocation Project became known as "The Move of the Millennium." General contractor International Chimney and Expert House Movers won the 40th Annual Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1999.[12] The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is one of the tallest masonry structures ever moved (200 feet tall and weighing 5,000 tons).
Specifications
- Construction material: Approximately 1,250,000 bricks
- Height above sea level: 210 feet (64 m)
- Height of the structure: 198.5 feet
- Daymark: black double helix spiral stripes on white background
- Number of steps: 257 steps to reach the light
- Brightness: 800,000 candle power from each of two 1000-watt lamps
- Flash pattern: 1 second flash, 6.5 second ellipse
- Visibility: From 20 nautical miles (37 km) in clear conditions. In exceptional conditions, it has been seen from 51 miles (94 km) out.[13]
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: North Carolina". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
- ^ Light List, Volume II, Atlantic Coast, Shrewsbury River, New Jersey to Little River, South Carolina (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2012. p. 6.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: North Carolina". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ a b c d Buxton, North Carolina - America's Tallest Lighthouse - Climb It. Roadside America
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "The Tallest Lighthouses". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ "Historical Vignette 111 - Cape Hatteras Lighthouse". U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original on May 6, 2010.
- ^ "National Register Information System – (#78000266)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Wobser, David, Boatnerd.com, White Shoal Light. Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, White Shoal Lighthouse.
- ISBN 1-885457-15-4.
- ^ Expert House Movers, Inc
- ^ "Cape Hatteras Light Station - Cape Hatteras National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)". National Park Service.
Further reading
- Witcher, T. R. (January 2018). "Preserved For the Future: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" (PDF). Civil Engineering. American Society of Civil Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
External links
- Moving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse - Cape Hatteras National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)
- Video showing the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse from the ground and the view from the top from 2016
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. NC-357, "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Point of Cape Hatteras, access road from Route 12, Buxton, Dare County, NC", 29 photos, 2 color transparencies, 13 measured drawings, 25 data pages, 3 photo caption pages