Cape Charles Light
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cape Charles Light | |
|---|---|
 Cape Charles Light in 1995 (Ralph Eshelman/NPS) |
|
| Location: | Smith Island off Cape Charles at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
|
| Year first lit: | 1828 (first light) 1895 (current light) |
| Automated: | 1963 |
| Construction: | cast iron skeleton tower |
| Tower shape: | Octagonal |
| Height: | 180 ft |
| Original lens: | First order Fresnel lens |
| Current lens: | Vega solar-powered beacon |
| Range: | 24 miles |
| Characteristic: | 5 sec Flashing white |
The current Cape Charles Light is a skeleton tower lighthouse at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the tallest lighthouse in Virginia and the second tallest in the United States. It is the third light at this location.
[edit] References
- Virginia Light Stations, from the United States Coast Guard
- Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Virginia Lighthouses: Cape Charles Light for National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program website
- NOAA Nautical Chart 12224 Chesapeake Bay: Cape Charles to Wolf Trap
- Cape Charles Lighthouse, Virginia from LighthouseFriends.com
- de Gast, Robert (1973). The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 142-147.
