Cockspur Island Light
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The Cockspur Island Light is a small lighthouse located in Chatham County, Georgia. It ceased operation as an active beacon in 1909. It has been relit since 2007 for historical rather than navigational purposes.
The lighthouse is situated on an islet off Cockspur Island at the south channel of the Savannah River near Lazaretto Creek, northwest of Tybee Island, Georgia. It is part of Fort Pulaski National Monument and can be reached from that site. The island is subject to tidal flooding and as a result transportation to the lighthouse is most often by small boat but can be accessed by crossing a small body of water from Cockspur Island. This is approximately 4 to 5 feet deep at low tide and does have a current so it is not advisable.
The lighthouse is built on an oyster and mussel bed. This lighthouse is unique in that the base is shaped like the bow of a ship to reduce the impact of the waves on the structure. The lighthouse is open to the public although no official tours or accommodations are made. However, visitors to the area frequently access the beacon by kayak. The National Park Service bushwacked a trail to the lighthouse in 2005 to allow visitors a closer vantage point. The trail begins on the northeast side of the fort and is more than ¾ of a mile long. At low tide, hikers can get within approximately 200 yards of the lighthouse.
This lighthouse was initially built as a daymarker without lights to indicate the entrance to the south channel of the Savannah River. Construction lasted from March 1837 to November 1839. By 1848 it was retrofitted with lights and reflectors. It housed a fixed white light from five lamps with 14 inch reflectors that shone 9 miles at a height of 25 feet above sea level. It was damaged by a hurricane in 1854. The larger replacement that was built in 1855 on the same foundation was designed by New York architect John S. Norris.
The light was extinguished for a time during the American Civil War during the battle that brought the defeat of Fort Pulaski. The lighthouse suffered little or no damage, even though it was in direct line of fire. It was relit in 1866.
On June 1, 1909, the light was finally extinguished because the south channel was infrequently used, compared to the much more popular north channel, which was deeper and wider. The United States Coast Guard relinquished control of this lighthouse to the National Park Service on August 14, 1958. Along with the entire National Monument, the lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Starting in 1995 and lasting until 2000, the upper portions of the lighthouse were restored, although the foundations still require protection from wave action and tidal erosion.
On March 18, 2007 at 7:30pm the lighthouse was relit in a ceremony hosted by the National Park Service and the U.S. Coast Guard
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Savannah River
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Length 350 mi (563 km)
Watershed 9,850 sq mi (25,511 km²) [1]
Discharge at near Clyo, GA
- average 11,720 cu ft/s (332 m³/s) [1]
Source Lake Hartwell
- elevation 655 ft (200 m) [3]
Mouth Atlantic Ocean
- location Tybee Roads
- elevation 0 ft (0 m) [3]
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border. The Savannah River drainage basin extends into the southeastern side of the Appalachian Mountains just inside North Carolina, bounded by the Eastern Continental Divide. The river is around 350 miles (560 km) long. It is formed by the confluence of the Tugaloo River and the Seneca River. Today this confluence is submerged beneath Lake Hartwell. At the northwest branch of the river is located the Tallulah Gorge.
Two major cities are located along the Savannah River: Savannah, Georgia, and Augusta, Georgia. They were nuclei of early English settlements during the Colonial period of American history.
Through the building of several locks and dams, and upstream reservoirs like Lake Hartwell, also, the Savannah River is now navigable by freight barges between Augusta, Georgia, (on the Fall Line) and the Atlantic Ocean.
The Savannah River is tidal at Savannah, Georgia and downstream. From Savannah downstream, the river broadens into an estuary before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. The area where the river's estuary meets the ocean is known as "Tybee Roads". The Intracoastal Waterway flows through a section of the Savannah River near the city of Savannah.
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