3/20/2023 0 Comments Lighthouse keeper riddleAnd as maritime trade expanded, so did the presence of lighthouses around the world, from China to Indonesia to Africa to Estonia. The Tower of Hercules, built by the Romans in northern Spain during the first century A.D., remains the oldest functioning lighthouse in the world. Lighthouses have been around since ancient Egypt. Ĭlick ahead for a glimpse of lighthouses through the years. There are regional similarities in construction, however: Lighthouses built in the Outer Banks of North Carolina are built in intervals so that if a ship maneuvering down the coast lost sight of one lighthouse, it would find the glow of the next one. A lighthouse overlooking a 100-foot (30.48 meter) cliff, for example, wouldn't need to be built as tall as one positioned closer to sea level. Even the height of the tower changes from one lighthouse to the next depending on the view from the water. Some lighthouses are placed onshore overlooking the water, while some are built offshore on reefs or patches of rocks. Early lighthouses used whatever materials were available locally: wood, brick, stone, concrete, reinforced steel and cast iron. No two lighthouses have been built the same. In addition to a lighthouse, a complete light station might include a fog signal building, a boathouse, living quarters for the keeper and his family and a separate oil house to cordon off the flammable agents that powered the lamps. Even today, if the GPS goes on the fritz, crews reference light lists to plot a course - those regional indices of lighthouses and their distinguishing traits.Īt points before their automation in the 20th century, lighthouses had to accommodate cumbersome systems as well as a light-keeping staff to keep shining 24 hours a day. For example, a lighthouse might emit two flashes every three seconds to distinguish it from a lighthouse that emits four flashes every three seconds. An individual lighthouse distinguished itself with its day mark - the color schemes and patterns on the tower - and its light signature. The second purpose is to serve as a reference to mariners.
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