Ram Island Ledge Light
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| Ram Island Ledge Light | |
|---|---|
 Undated photo of Ram Island Ledge Light |
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| Location: | Portland harbor, Casco bay |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
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| Year first lit: | 1905 |
| Automated: | 1959 |
| Construction: | Granite blocks |
| Tower shape: | conical |
| Markings/Pattern: | Natural (light gray) with black lantern |
| Height: | 77 feet |
| Original lens: | Third order |
| Range: | 8 nm |
| Characteristic: | Flashing (2) White 6s with the following pattern: 1s flashing 1s eclipse. 1s flashing 3s eclipse. Emergency light of reduced intensity when main light is extinguished. HORN: 1 blast ev 10s (1s bl). |
Ram Island Ledge Light is a lighthouse in Casco Bay, Maine, United States.
[edit] History
In 1855 an iron spindle was erected to protect sailors from dangerous underwater ledges surrounding Ram Island Ledge. The ledge continued to be the site of repeated shipwrecks. On February 24, 1900 the Allan Line steamship Californian (formerly named the State of California) ran aground on the ledge while en route from Portland to Glasgow, Scotland via Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a result of that accident, the United States Congress appropriated funds to build a lighthouse.
Construction began on May 1, 1903 and was completed in 1905. The lighthouse was built of granite quarried from Vinalhaven, Maine. The lighthouse originally included a third-order Fresnel lens. The lighthouse was electrified in 1958, and then automated in 1959. The light was converted to solar power in January 2001, and remains operational to this day.
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