Dry Tortugas Light
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| Dry Tortugas Light | |
|---|---|
 The Dry Tortugas Light is on Loggerhead Key |
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| Location: | Loggerhead Key, Dry Tortugas |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
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| Year first lit: | 1858 |
| Automated: | 1988 |
| Foundation: | stone |
| Construction: | brick |
| Tower shape: | conical tower |
| Height: | 151 feet (46 m) |
| Original lens: | first order Fresnel lens |
| Range: | 20 nm (37 km) |
| Characteristic: | White, flashing every 20 sec |
The Dry Tortugas Light is located on Loggerhead Key, three miles west of Fort Jefferson, Florida ( ). A lighthouse was established on Bush Key in 1825, and refitted with a new lantern in 1846. Construction on a new lighthouse on Loggerhead Key began in 1856 and was completed in 1858. The Loggerhead Key lighthouse has a stone foundation and a conical brick tower. The walls are six feet thick at the base and taper to four feet thick at the top. The tower is painted black on the upper part and white below. The light is 157 feet above the water. A radio room is attached to the base of the tower. The original lens was a first order Fresnel lens, which is now on display at the United States Coast Guard Aids to Navigation School in Yorktown, Virginia. The light was automated in 1988. The nominal distance the light is visible is 28 miles.
The Dry Tortugas lighthouse, along with the Garden Key lighthouse at Fort Jefferson, were the only lights on the Gulf coast that stayed in full operation throughout the American Civil War. The tower was damaged by a hurricane in 1873 and plans were drawn up for a new tower. However, repairs to the tower were so successful that the plans for a new tower were shelved.
[edit] References
- McCarthy, Kevin M. (1990), written at Gainesville, Florida, Florida Lighthouses, University of Florida Press, <http://www.upf.com/archive/mccarthy.html> ISBN 0-8130-0982-0.
- U.S. Coast Guard - Historic Light Station Information & Photography - Florida [1] - accessed December 10, 2005
- Dean, Love (1982), written at Key West, Florida, Reef Lights: Seaswept Lighthouses of the Florida Keys, The Historic Key West Preservation Board ISBN 0-943528-03-8.
