Lighthouse The lighthouse of Aveiro, west coast of Portugal A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and used as a navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, safe entries to harbors, and can also assist in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance and replacement by modern electronic navigational systems. History[edit] Ancient era[edit] Graphic reconstruction of the Pharos according to a 2006 study Before the development of clearly defined ports mariners were guided by fires built on hilltops. Modern construction[edit] The modern era of lighthouses began at the turn of the 18th century, as lighthouse construction boomed in lockstep with burgeoning levels of transatlantic commerce. Lighting improvements[edit] Argand lamp with circular wick and glass chimney.
Lighthouses of France's North Coast This coastline saw fierce fighting during World War II, especially during and after the Allied D-Day invasion of June 1944; very few of the lighthouses in the area escaped damage and some were destroyed. The French word for a lighthouse, phare, is often reserved for the larger coastal lighthouses; a smaller light or harbor light is called a feu (literally "fire," but here meaning "light"). The front light of a range (alignement) is the feu antérieur and the rear light is the feu postérieur. Aids to navigation in France were regulated for many years by the Bureau des Phares et Balises. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. General Sources Le Phare à travers le Monde A large, well known site maintained by Alain Guyomard and Robert Carceller. Phares de France Another large and well known site, this one by Jean-Christophe Fichou. Online List of Lights - France Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Ministère de la Culture - Phares Phares et Balises: Silhouettes
Bienvenue sur Phareland, le site des phares de France Lighthouse Directory Zwiebelturm and Loschenturm, Bremerhaven, Germany, March 2007 Flickr Creative Commons photo by Allie Caulfield A Month of Lighthouse News: December 24. Post-Christmas open house dates are a tradition at the Sand Point Lighthouse in Escanaba, Upper Michigan. Fort Niagara Light, Youngstown, New York, U.S.A., April 2008 Flickr Creative Commons photo by André Sá About this site Founded in 1999 (during the relocation of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras lighthouse), the Lighthouse Directory is a tool for research and study concerning lighthouses and efforts to preserve those lighthouses. I'm glad to hear from site visitors, especially if you have lighthouse news or photos of rarely-visited lighthouses. The Directory has over 30,000 links, and all of them were appropriate and legitimate when they were added. This site is hosted by my employer, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. What is a lighthouse? Some definitions are not controversial. Articles about lighthouses: Special Resources
Nord-Par-de-Calais, Picardie A 1144Position 50° 58' N | 001° 51' EBetriebszeit 1848- Feuerhöhe ü. Mittelwasser 59 m Bauwerkhöhe 53 mSektoren und TragweitenWeiß 23 sm Kennung Fl (4) W 15 sec A 1146Position 50° 58' N | 001° 51' EBetriebszeit ? A 1148Position 50° 58' N | 001° 51' EBetriebszeit 1903- Feuerhöhe ü. A 1166Position 50° 52' N | 001° 35' EBetriebszeit 1957- Feuerhöhe ü. A 1170Position 50° 42' N | 001° 34' EBetriebszeit ca. 1950- Feuerhöhe ü. A 1175Position ° ' N | ° ' EBetriebszeit 1998- Feuerhöhe ü. A 1178Position ° ' N | ° ' EBetriebszeit 1903- Feuerhöhe ü. A 1190Position 50° 42' N | 001° 33' EBetriebszeit 1963- Feuerhöhe ü. A 1196Position 50° 31' N | 001° 36' EBetriebszeit 1951- Feuerhöhe ü. A 1202Position 50° 24' N | 001° 33' EBetriebszeit 1951- Feuerhöhe ü. A 1211Position 50° 13' N | 001° 37' EBetriebszeit 1948- Feuerhöhe ü.