Fourteen Foot Shoal Light
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| Fourteen Foot Shoal Light | |
|---|---|
 The light in 2001 (note the solar panels that provide the current power.) |
|
| Location: | Lake Huron, Michigan |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
|
| Year first constructed: | 1929 |
| Year first lit: | 1930 |
| Automated: | 1930 |
| Foundation: | Pneumatic/sub |
| Construction: | Reinforced concrete/steel |
| Tower shape: | Conical on a rectangular house |
| Height: | Focal plane - 55 feet (17 m)[1] |
| Original lens: | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
| Current lens: | 250 m.m. acrylic optic Fresnel lens |
| Range: | 14 miles (23 km) |
The lighthouse at Fourteen Foot Shoal was so named from the simple fact that the the lake is only 14 feet deep at this point.
This light is located at the Northern End of Lake Huron, Michigan, U.S.A. where it is necessary for boats heading to Chicago to pass through a narrow strait and still avoid shallow water. The most common path is to go south of Bois Blanc Island (Michigan). In this channel, the Poe Reef Light marks the northern end of the safe channel and the Fourteen Foot Shoal light marks the southern side of the channel.
The United States Lighthouse Service intended from the time of design that this light would be automated (possibly the first such instance) and operated by radio control from the nearby Poe Reef Light. In 1925 a temporary acetylene buoy was installed here and construction of the permanent light began in 1929 such that the light could begin operation in 1930. [2]
The original light was a Fourth Order Fresnel lens. The focal plane is 56 feet. It now has a 250 m.m. acrylic optic Fresnel lens, and assuming it is properly installed and adjusted, has a maximum visible range of nine nautical miles (approximately 10.4 statute miles).[3] A diaphone fog horn is attached.[4]
A private boat is, of course, the best way to see this light close up. Short of that, Sheplers Ferry Service out of Mackinaw City offers periodic lighthouse cruises in the summer season. Its "Eastbound Tour" includes passes by Round Island Light, Bois Blanc Island and Light, Poe Reef light and Fourteen Foot Shoal. Schedules and rates are available from Shapler's.[5][6]
[edit] References
- ^ National Park Service, Maritime Heritage Program, Inventory of Historic Lights, Fourteen Foot Shoal Light.
- ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Fourteen Foot Shoal Light.
- ^ 250 m.m. acrylic optic lens, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
- ^ National Park Service, Maritime Heritage Program, Inventory of Historic Lights, Fourteen Foot Shoal Light.
- ^ Shaplers Ferry Service.
- ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Fourteen Foot Shoal Light.
[edit] Bibliography and further reading
- Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses.
- "A Tour of the Lights of the Straits." Michigan History 70 (Sep/Oct 1986), pp. 17-29.
- Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. ISBN 0814325548 ISBN 9780814325544.
- Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
- Penrod, John, Lighthouses of Michigan, (Berrien Center, Michigan: Penrod/Hiawatha, 1998) ISBN 9780942618785 ISBN 9781893624238.
- Penrose, Laurie and Bill, A Traveler’s Guide to 116 Michigan Lighthouses (Petoskey, Michigan: Friede Publications, 1999). ISBN 0923756035 ISBN 9780923756031
- Pepper, Terry. Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes.
- Putnam, George R., Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
- Wagner, John L.. Beacons Shining in the Night: The Lighthouses of Michigan. Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.
- Wagner, John L., Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective, (East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner, 1998) ISBN 1880311011 ISBN 9781880311011.
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993.
[edit] External links
- Boatnerd, Fouteen Foot Shoal Light.
- Interactive map, pictures, descriptions of Northern Lake Huron lights.
- Lighthouses in the Mackinac Straits.
- Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Fourteen Foot Shoal Light.
- Michigan Lighthouse Fund, Fourteen Foot Shoal Light.
- National Park Service, Maritime Heritage Program, Inventory of Historic Lights, Fourteen Foot Shoal Light.
- U.S. Coast Guard's complete list of Michigan lights, with description of Fourteen Foot Shoal Light.
- Volume 7, U.S. Coast Guard Lightlist (PDF).
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