Nothing says Summer more than the beach. The beach and more importantly, the classic scenic view with a lighthouse which is paramount to the vision of summer. When I visited my friend in New Hampshire I had the pleasure of seeing a lighthouse. Somewhere in my pile of non digital photos is that picture I took while standing on the beach. However with the magic of the internet I found a similar picture.

Did you know August 7th is National Lighthouse Day.

Here are some facts about lighthouses:

There are 779 standing lighthouses in the United States.

Michigan boasts the most lighthouses of any US State.

Lighthouses have different color patterns to help the mariner identify them during the day.

Lighthouses height range from 50 to 200 feet tall

The light from a lighthouse can typically be seen 20 miles away

The height of a lighthouse takes into account the curvature of the earth, so the higher light above MHW (mean high water), the further away it can be seen at sea. But the light should not be so high up that local sailors will not see it. This is why you will frequently get shorter lighthouses on the top of cliffs and taller lighthouses built nearer the water surface.

These days, lighthouses are run by machines and remote monitoring. The automatic sensors decide if there is extra moisture in the air, and if so turn on the fog signals. Radio signals are used to communicate with the ships. But some lighthouses are still manned by people.

Lighthouses are great tourist attractions. I can vouch for that. When I know there is a lighthouse nearby, I want to see it.

Lake Havasu’s 400 miles of stunning shoreline hosts an impressive collection of 28 scaled-down lighthouse replicas. All are actual functioning navigational aids. 

Many books and movies feature lighthouses. The below are a few movies. What an interesting backdrop to a movie. Lighthouses have such history and let’s be honest they can be a bit spooky.

The Lighthouse (1998)
Pete’s Dragon
The Vanishing
The Fog
Lighthouse
To the Lighthouse

Some of my favorite lighthouses:

A classic striped lighthouse.

A lighthouse at dusk sitting on rocks.

Split Rock Lighthouse, Silver Bay Minnesota

St. Helena Island Lighthouse, St. Helena Island, Michigan

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Lubec, Maine

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon

Tourlitis Lighthouse, Greece

So many unusual and beautiful lighthouses that have saved countless lives. Thank you for checking out my blog and the mini lesson on lighthouses.

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