Plum Island Range Lights

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Plum Island Range Lights

Front range light (with rear in back)
Location: Plum Island, Wisconsin
Coordinates
WGS-84 (GPS)
45°18′14″N, 86°57′18″W
Front range Light
Year first lit: 1964
Automated: 1964
Construction: Steel
Tower shape: Skeletal
Characteristic: Red, Isophase 6 sec. Directional, bearing 330.5°
Plum Island Range Lights

Rear range light with house
Location: Plum Island, Wisconsin
Coordinates
WGS-84 (GPS)
45°18′28″N, 86°57′29″W
Rear range light
Year first lit: 1897
Automated: c. 1969
Foundation: Concrete
Construction: Iron
Tower shape: Skeletal
Height: 65 feet (20 m)
Original lens: Fourth order Fresnel lens
Characteristic: Flashing Red

The Plum Island Range Lights are a pair of lighthouses located on Plum Island in Door County, Wisconsin.

The range lights were originally lit in 1897 and are 1,650 feet apart, aligned on a 330° bearing line to guide boats safely into the Porte des Morts Passage. The Plum Island front range light was originally identical to the front range light of the Baileys Harbor Range Lights, but was replaced by a modern skeletal light in 1964. The rear range light is the original tower and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, as the Plum Island Range Rear Light, reference number #84003659. The rear range light is also omnidirectional.

According to US Government publication, "The American Practical Navigator", Chapter 5: Range lights are light pairs that indicate a specific line of position when they are in line. The higher rear light is placed behind the front light. When the mariner sees the lights vertically in line, he is on the range line. If the front light appears left of the rear light, the observer is to the right of the range line; if the front appears to the right of the rear, the observer is left of the range line.[1]

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