This lighthouse is located east of the Saddlebunch Keys, just offshore from Sugarloaf Key, close to Looe Key, in Florida, USA. It was completed in 1880, and first lit on July 15, 1880. The structure was built to the same plan and dimensions as the Fowey Rocks lighthouse, completed in 1878.
The Light is 109 feet (33 m) above the water. The keeper's octagonal dwelling is on a platform 40 feet (12 m) above the water. The tower framework and dwelling are painted brown, while the enclosed circular stair to the lantern is painted white. The original lens was a first-order drum Fresnel lens, producing a flash every 5 seconds. The light was automated in 1963, and a fourth-order lens with solar-powered light was installed. The light has a nominal range of 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi) in the white sectors, and 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) in the red sectors.
The lighthouse was built by a Trenton, New Jersey firm and took only 13 months to fabricate, ship, and erect on site. The site of the lighthouse was on the outermost reefs, and was covered with 4 feet (1.2 m) of water. The tower when completed cost about $94,000.
Year first lit: 1880
Automated: 1963
Foundation: screw-pile
Construction: skeleton tower
Tower shape: brown octagonal skeletal octagonal pyramid enclosing white stair cylinder and brown octagonal dwelling
Height: 109 feet (33 m)
Original lens: First-order drum Fresnel lens
Current lens: Fourth-order Fresnel lens
Range: Red 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi), White 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi)
Characteristic: Flashing white (3) 15s with red sectors
In order to get the correct coordinates, please choose which lighthouse this is:
A) Sombrero Key Lighthouse - N29° 22.378 W81° 47.086
B) American Shoal Lighthouse - N29° 20.501 W81° 48.244
C) St. Joseph Point Lighthouse - N29° 21.968 W81° 47.386
To learn more about Florida Lighthouses, please visit the link below:
Lighthouse Friends, Florida Lighthouses: http://www.lighthousefriends.com/fl.html
Unless noted otherwise, all source material is from Wikipedia.