Battery Point Lighthouse
Posted by: 
HeyRob4449
N 41° 44.648 W 124° 12.178
10T E 399974 N 4622067
Built on a small island at Crescent City California, Battery Point Light was first lit in 1856. The lighthouse was automated in 1953, and a modern 375mm lens has now replaced the original fourth-order Fresnel lens.
Waymark Code: WM2H5W
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 11/03/2007
Views: 50
Accessible only at low-tide, Battery Point is currently a Maritime Museum and is operated by Del Norte County. The Cape Cod structure built of brick and granite offers visitors a look at the maritime history of the region and gives great insight to the life of a light Keeper. Worn from storms and tidal waves, this 45 foot tower and attached lean-to still function today as an important navigational aid to seaward travelers along the northern Pacific coast.
With its exposed location atop a rocky mound, the lighthouse was often battered by storms. Waves would wash over the islet and strike the lighthouse. One rogue wave broke three panes of glass in the lantern room and deposited water in the tower. Remarkably, the lighthouse received no damage when Crescent City received the worst tsunami damage ever suffered along the west coast of the lower forty-eight states. On March 27, 1964, the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the northern hemisphere with a magnitude of 9.2 struck Alaska near Prince William Sound. A series of waves generated by the earthquake raced south at a speed of nearly 600 m.p.h. and reached Crescent City around midnight with crests of up to twenty feet.
The lighthouse survived the ordeal intact, but the following year, the modern beacon that replaced the Fresnel lens in the tower was switched off, and a flashing light at the end of the nearby breakwater served as the harbor's navigational aid. On December 10, 1982, the light in the lighthouse tower was lit again, and the Battery Point Lighthouse was listed as a private aid to navigation.
Today caretakers live in the lighthouse and conduct tours of the premises. The fourth-order Fresnel lens used in the lighthouse is on display along with historic photos and other lighthouse memorabilia.
(The preceeding was gathered from several online sources)
Coastal Lighthouse: Lighthouse
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