George Island Light is a lighthouse located on George Island that lies in the middle of the North Basin of Lake Winnipeg in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located approximately 400 km (250 mi) north from Winnipeg, and approximately half-way between the shore communities of Grand Rapids and Poplar River.
The lighthouse structure is 15.5 metres (51 ft) tall square pyramidal steel skeletal tower painted red, with enclosed lantern room on top, painted white. The lantern has a focal plane of 20 metres (66 ft) and it displays a white flash every four seconds visible in all directions. The light is maintained by the Canadian Coast Guard.
The lighthouse was built in 1906 to aid navigation in the treacherous North Basin. It had a lighthouse keeper until 1981. The George Island Light was the last lighthouse to be fitted as a fully automatic light. The last lighthouse keeper, Mr. Willard Olson, served on George Island every year starting from 1951 until 1981.
Famous quotes containing the words george, island and/or light:
“Bonnie George Campbell rode out on a day.
He saddled, he bridled, and gallant rode he,
And hame cam his guid horse, but never cam he.”
—Unknown. Bonnie George Campbell (l. 2–4)
“An island always pleases my imagination, even the smallest, as a small continent and integral portion of the globe. I have a fancy for building my hut on one. Even a bare, grassy isle, which I can see entirely over at a glance, has some undefined and mysterious charm for me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The light passes
from ridge to ridge,
from flower to flower—”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)