Elbow Cay Lighthouse
| The red and white striped lighthouse in Hope Town is a noted local landmark. | |
| Location | Elbow Cay, port of Hope Town |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 26°32′22″N 76°57′32″W / 26.539421°N 76.958840°W / 26.539421; -76.958840Coordinates: 26°32′22″N 76°57′32″W / 26.539421°N 76.958840°W / 26.539421; -76.958840 |
| Year first constructed | 1862 |
| Year first lit | 1864 |
| Construction | Masonry |
| Tower shape | Conical |
| Markings / pattern | Red and white bands |
| Focal height | 37 m (121 ft) |
| Original lens | First order Fresnel |
| Range | 23 nmi (43 km) |
| Characteristic | Fl(5) 15s |
| Admiralty number | J4572 |
| NGA number | 11800 |
| ARLHS number | BAH-010 |
Hope Town features one of the last operational kerosene-fueled lighthouses in the world. This lighthouse was built in 1862 and became operational two years later, it is striped horizontally red and white. Its light can be seen from 23 nmi (43 km) away.
The Hope Town Lighthouse is one of only three Manual Lighthouses left in the World. It has a spring mechanism that has to be hand cranked every several hours to maintain the sequence of five white flashes every 15 seconds. The lamp burns kerosene oil with a wick and mantle. The light is then focused as it passes through the optics of a first order Fresnel lens which floats on a bed of mercury.
Read more about this topic: Hope Town
Famous quotes containing the words elbow and/or lighthouse:
“To face the garment of rebellion
With some fine color that may please the eye
Of fickle changelings and poor discontents.
Which gape and rub the elbow at the news
Of hurly-burly innovation.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“This lighthouse was the cynosure of all eyes.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)