Charleston Light
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| Charleston Light | |
|---|---|
 Charleston Light on Sullivan's Island |
|
| Location: | Sullivan's Island, South Carolina |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
|
| Year first constructed: | 1960 |
| Year first lit: | 1962 |
| Automated: | 1975 |
| Foundation: | Concrete |
| Construction: | Steel with aluminum alloy skin |
| Tower shape: | Triangular |
| Markings/Pattern: | Upper black and lower white |
| Height: | 140 ft (42.7 m) |
| Elevation: | 163 ft (49.7 m) |
| Original lens: | DCB 24 |
| Current lens: | DCB 24 |
| Range: | 26 mi (41.9 km) |
| Characteristic: | White, two short flashes every 30 s |
Charleston Light on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, which is the northern entrance to Charleston harbor, was built to replace the old Charleston light on Morris Island. Construction was started in 1960, and it was first lit on June 15, 1962.
The lighthouse has a steel frame, an aluminum alloy skin, and a modern triangular cross section. It is 140 ft (42.7 m) tall. The focal plane of the light is 163 ft (49.7 m) above mean sea level. The daymark is a black upper half and white lower half. It is the only U.S. lighthouse with an elevator and was the last manned lighthouse to be built.
It has a DCB 24 light. It originally had 28-million candela (candlepower) that was the most powerful in the Western Hemisphere. As the light was actually too dazzling, the power was lowered to 1.2 million candela that still be seen over 26 miles. Its characteristic is two 0.2 s flashes separated by 4.8 s every 30 s. The light was automated in 1975. [1] [2] [3] [4]
- Charleston Light is at coordinates Coordinates:
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/LightLists/V3COMPLETE.pdf U.S. Coast Guard, Light List, v. III, 2006, p. 3, ISBN 0-16-072990-4.
- ^ Roberts, Bruce, and Jones, Ray, Southern Lighthouses: Outer Banks to Cape Florida, 3rd ed., Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, CT, 2002, p. 41, ISBN 0-7627-1243-0.
- ^ Hollands, F. Ross, Jr., Great American Lighthouses, Preservation Press, Washington, DC, p. 189, ISBN 0-89133-153-0.
- ^ Edgar, Walter, ed. The South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of South Carolina Press, 2006, pp. 556-557, ISBN 1-57003-598-2
