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Lighthouse↕ | Location↕ | Year Built↕ | Height↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse | Outer Banks, North Carolina, USA | 1870 | 64 m (210 ft) | The tallest brick lighthouse in the United States and one of the most recognizable structures on the American coastline, its distinctive black and white spiral striping makes it instantly identifiable and it guards one of the most treacherous stretches of water in the Atlantic — the Diamond Shoals where the cold Labrador Current collides with the warm Gulf Stream creating conditions that have wrecked over 600 ships earning the area the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic, in 1999 the entire 4,830-ton structure was moved 2,900 feet inland to save it from coastal erosion in one of the most remarkable engineering feats in preservation history — the move took 23 days and the lighthouse arrived at its new location intact, the light can be seen from 20 nautical miles away and the 257 steps to the top offer panoramic views of the Outer Banks barrier islands |
Eddystone Lighthouse | Plymouth, Devon, England | 1882 (current tower) | 49 m (161 ft) | The lighthouse that proved a tower could survive in the open ocean, the current Eddystone is the fourth structure built on a notoriously dangerous reef 14 miles off the coast of Plymouth — the first wooden tower built by Henry Winstanley in 1698 was destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703 killing Winstanley himself who had been inside making repairs, the second wooden tower caught fire in 1755 and its keeper reportedly swallowed molten lead from the roof which was confirmed at his autopsy, John Smeaton's third tower built in 1759 introduced the revolutionary interlocking stone construction technique that became the standard for all offshore lighthouses, Smeaton's tower was so structurally sound that when it was replaced the stump was left on the reef where it still stands today while the upper portion was dismantled and re-erected on Plymouth Hoe as a monument, the Eddystone story is essentially the history of lighthouse engineering compressed into one treacherous reef |
Peggy's Cove Lighthouse | Nova Scotia, Canada | 1914 | 15 m (49 ft) | The most photographed lighthouse in Canada and an icon of the Maritime provinces that receives over 700,000 visitors annually despite being a small octagonal concrete tower on a granite outcrop in a fishing village of fewer than 50 permanent residents, Peggy's Cove lighthouse is not architecturally remarkable but its setting — perched on massive wave-smoothed glacial boulders with the wild North Atlantic crashing around it — creates one of the most dramatically photogenic scenes in the country, it served as a functioning post office during summer months making it one of the few lighthouses in the world where visitors could mail letters, the lighthouse gained somber significance in 1998 when Swissair Flight 111 crashed into the ocean nearby killing all 229 aboard and the lighthouse became the visual symbol of the tragedy, despite its fame Parks Canada regularly warns visitors about the danger of standing on the black rocks near the water where rogue waves have swept people to their deaths |
Tower of Hercules | A Coruña, Galicia, Spain | 2nd century AD | 55 m (180 ft) | The oldest functioning lighthouse in the world, built by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago and still guiding ships into the harbor of A Coruña on the northwestern tip of Spain, the Tower of Hercules is the only Roman lighthouse that has been in continuous operation since antiquity — a UNESCO World Heritage Site that represents an unbroken chain of maritime service spanning almost two millennia, the original Roman structure forms the core of the current tower which was restored and encased in a neoclassical granite shell in the 18th century, according to legend the tower was built on the spot where Hercules defeated the giant Geryon and buried his head — the coats of arms of both A Coruña and Galicia feature the tower, its light reaches 32 nautical miles making it one of the most powerful lighthouses in Spain, standing at its base visitors can contemplate the extraordinary fact that Roman sailors saw essentially the same tower guiding them home that modern mariners see today |
Fastnet Lighthouse | Fastnet Rock, County Cork, Ireland | 1904 | 54 m (177 ft) | Known as Ireland's Teardrop because it was the last sight of Ireland that millions of emigrants saw as they sailed west during the Great Famine and subsequent waves of emigration, Fastnet Rock sits exposed in the Atlantic Ocean six miles off the southwestern tip of Ireland and the lighthouse built upon it is considered one of the finest examples of rock lighthouse construction in the world, the Fastnet Yacht Race — one of the classic ocean races — rounds the rock and the 1979 race became one of the worst disasters in sailing history when a storm killed 15 competitors, the current granite tower replaced an earlier cast-iron lighthouse that proved inadequate against Atlantic storms and its construction required workers to be lowered by crane onto a wave-swept rock in conditions of extreme danger, the lighthouse was automated in 1989 and the last keepers departed leaving the rock to the seabirds and the sea, Fastnet's emotional resonance for the Irish diaspora gives it a cultural significance that transcends its navigational function |
Portland Head Light | Cape Elizabeth, Maine, USA | 1791 | 24 m (80 ft) | The most photographed lighthouse in the United States and the oldest lighthouse in Maine, commissioned by George Washington and first lit on January 10, 1791, Portland Head Light sits on a dramatic headland at the entrance to Portland Harbor where its white tower and red-roofed keeper's house against the rocky Maine coastline create what may be the most perfectly composed lighthouse scene in America, the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — who grew up in Portland — was a frequent visitor and the lighthouse is believed to have inspired his poem The Lighthouse, the keeper's quarters now house a museum chronicling Maine's maritime history and the grounds of Fort Williams Park surrounding the lighthouse are among the most visited public spaces in New England, unlike many American lighthouses Portland Head Light has never been moved or substantially altered from its original appearance, it remains an active navigational aid operated by the United States Coast Guard while the surrounding property is maintained by the town of Cape Elizabeth |
Lindau Lighthouse | Lake Constance, Bavaria, Germany | 1856 | 33 m (108 ft) | The southernmost lighthouse in Germany and one of the most beautiful freshwater lighthouses in the world, standing at the entrance to the harbor of Lindau on Lake Constance alongside a massive stone Bavarian lion sculpture, the two monuments flanking the harbor entrance create one of the most photographed harbor scenes in Europe, the lighthouse's clock tower design with its lantern room on top gives it a distinctive Bavarian character unlike the cylindrical towers typical of coastal lighthouses, Lake Constance — the Bodensee — borders Germany Austria and Switzerland and the lighthouse guards the approach to Lindau's island old town which is connected to the mainland by a bridge and a railway causeway, climbing the 139 steps rewards visitors with panoramic views across the lake to the snow-capped Alps of Austria and Switzerland, Lindau lighthouse proves that not all great lighthouses need crashing ocean waves — some earn their beauty through the quiet drama of a lake framed by mountains |
Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos) | Alexandria, Egypt | c. 280 BC | 100–137 m (est.) | One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the archetype from which all lighthouses descend — the very word pharology meaning the study of lighthouses derives from Pharos the island on which it stood, built during the reign of Ptolemy II the lighthouse guided ships into the busy harbor of Alexandria for over 1,500 years before earthquakes gradually destroyed it between the 10th and 14th centuries, ancient accounts describe a fire burning at its summit whose light was amplified by a massive bronze mirror visible from 30 miles at sea — if accurate this would make it one of the most sophisticated optical instruments of antiquity, the ruins were rediscovered underwater in 1994 by French archaeologists who found massive stone blocks and statues from the lighthouse scattered across the harbor floor, the Sultan of Egypt built the Citadel of Qaitbay on the lighthouse's foundations in 1477 using some of its fallen stones, every lighthouse ever built is a descendant of this structure and owes its fundamental concept to the engineers of Ptolemaic Alexandria |
Cape Byron Lighthouse | Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia | 1901 | 22 m (72 ft) | Australia's most easterly lighthouse standing on the continent's most easterly point, Cape Byron lighthouse is a beloved landmark where thousands of visitors gather each year to watch the first sunrise to hit the Australian mainland, the walk along the Cape Byron headland to the lighthouse passes through subtropical rainforest and offers some of the best whale watching on the Australian coast during migration season from June to November, the lighthouse's powerful beam — Australia's most powerful at 2,200,000 candela — sweeps across the Pacific Ocean and can be seen from 50 kilometers away, Byron Bay transformed from a quiet whaling town into one of Australia's most famous beach destinations and the lighthouse became the symbol of its laid-back counterculture identity, the headland is sacred to the Arakwal Bundjalung people who know it as Walgun and the lighthouse sits on land of deep cultural significance, the contrast between the structured engineered precision of the lighthouse and the wild organic beauty of the cape it occupies makes it one of the most harmonious marriages of human construction and natural landscape anywhere in the world |
St. Augustine Lighthouse | St. Augustine, Florida, USA | 1874 | 50 m (165 ft) | One of the oldest and most historically significant lighthouses in the United States located in America's oldest continuously occupied European settlement, the current black and white striped tower replaced an earlier Spanish watchtower that had served as a navigational aid since the late 16th century, the lighthouse's 219 steps lead to a gallery with views across the Matanzas Inlet and the ancient city of St. Augustine, it has gained considerable fame as one of the most haunted locations in America — ghost hunting shows have filmed there extensively and the lighthouse museum operates evening dark of the moon ghost tours, the keeper's house has been restored as a maritime museum and the surrounding grounds include a nature center, the lighthouse was saved from demolition in the 1970s by a preservation effort led by the Junior Service League of St. Augustine and its restoration became a model for lighthouse preservation projects across the country |
Phare de Cordouan | Gironde Estuary, France | 1611 | 68 m (223 ft) | The oldest lighthouse in France still in operation and the only lighthouse in the world to be classified as a historical monument — often called the Versailles of the Sea for its extraordinary Renaissance architecture, Cordouan was built as a monumental statement of French royal power featuring a chapel decorated with marble columns and stained glass on the first floor and an ornate royal apartment on the second, King Henri III ordered its construction and Louis XIV later ordered it heightened to its current impressive stature, the lighthouse stands on a reef in the middle of the Gironde Estuary and can only be reached by boat at specific tides — visitors must wade through knee-deep water to reach the entrance, UNESCO inscribed Cordouan as a World Heritage Site in 2021 recognizing it as an outstanding example of lighthouse architecture and a testament to the art of maritime signaling, its combination of functional lighthouse engineering and palatial decorative architecture is unique in the world and represents a period when lighthouses were built as monuments to civilization rather than simple navigational aids |
Hook Lighthouse | Hook Head, County Wexford, Ireland | c. 1172 | 35 m (115 ft) | One of the oldest operational lighthouses in the world with a history stretching back over 800 years, the current tower was built by William Marshal — the greatest knight in medieval history — in the early 13th century on a site where monks had maintained a beacon fire for centuries before that, the black and white banded tower is one of the most distinctive lighthouse designs in the world and its cylindrical Norman architecture has survived virtually unchanged since the reign of King John, the phrase by hook or by crook is popularly believed to originate from Oliver Cromwell's declaration that he would take the port of Waterford by Hook — referring to Hook Head — or by Crook — the nearby village, the lighthouse remained staffed by keepers until 1996 and is now one of Ireland's most popular tourist attractions with guided tours climbing through its medieval vaulted chambers, Hook lighthouse's extraordinary longevity — it has been warning mariners of danger for eight centuries — makes it a monument to the enduring human impulse to light the darkness and guide strangers safely home |
Makapuu Point Lighthouse | Oahu, Hawaii, USA | 1909 | 14 m (46 ft) | Home to the largest lighthouse lens in the United States — a massive hyper-radial Fresnel lens over 3.6 meters tall that is one of the engineering marvels of early 20th century optics, the lighthouse sits on the easternmost point of Oahu at the top of dramatic volcanic sea cliffs and the hiking trail to the lookout above it is one of the most popular walks on the island offering views of the Pacific Ocean and the offshore islands of Manana and Kaohikaipu, during winter months the trail offers some of the best whale watching in Hawaii as humpback whales breach and spout in the waters below, the lighthouse itself is not open to the public but the lens and the dramatic clifftop setting make it one of the most photographed lighthouses in the Pacific, the structure's small size belies the power of its lens which can be seen from 28 nautical miles at sea, Makapuu demonstrates that a lighthouse's significance is measured not by the size of its tower but by the brilliance of its light and the beauty of its perch |
Happisburgh Lighthouse | Norfolk, England | 1791 | 26 m (85 ft) | The only independently operated lighthouse in the United Kingdom and a symbol of community determination in the face of environmental catastrophe, Happisburgh — pronounced Haze-bruh by locals — sits on one of the fastest-eroding coastlines in Europe where the North Sea claims several meters of cliff each year, homes gardens and roads have fallen into the sea and the lighthouse itself was at one point expected to follow within decades, when Trinity House decommissioned the lighthouse in 1988 local residents formed a trust to keep it operational using volunteer keepers and community fundraising, the red and white striped tower has become a rallying point for the village's fight against coastal erosion and a reminder that the relationship between humanity and the sea is one of constant negotiation and inevitable retreat, the Happisburgh Lighthouse Trust's efforts have been recognized nationally and the lighthouse has become a symbol of the broader challenge of climate change and rising sea levels facing coastal communities around the British Isles |
Point Reyes Lighthouse | Point Reyes, California, USA | 1870 | At cliff base (300+ steps down) | One of the most dramatically situated lighthouses in the United States, built not at the top of the cliff but at its base — visitors must descend over 300 steps down the windswept headland to reach it because fog at Point Reyes rolls in below the clifftop and a light placed at the summit would be invisible to ships, the point is one of the windiest and foggiest places on the Pacific Coast with sustained winds regularly exceeding 60 miles per hour and the fog signal historically operated more hours per year than any other on the West Coast, the lighthouse's first-order Fresnel lens is a masterpiece of 19th century French optical engineering weighing over 6,000 pounds and containing over 1,000 hand-ground prisms, the surrounding Point Reyes National Seashore is one of the premier wildlife viewing areas in California and the lighthouse overlooks waters where gray whales pass during their annual migration, the combination of extreme weather dramatic setting and the unusual descent to reach it makes Point Reyes one of the most memorable lighthouse visits in the world |
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