Charleston Light
Encyclopedia
Charleston Light on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina
, which is the northern entrance to Charleston Harbor
, was built to replace the defunct Morris Island Light
on Morris Island
. Construction was started in 1960, and it was first lit on June 15, 1962.
The lighthouse
has a steel frame, an aluminum alloy skin, and a modern triangular cross section. It is 140 ft (42.7 m) tall. The focal plane of the light is 163 ft (49.7 m) above mean sea level. Originally painted white and red-orange, the daymark
is now a black upper half and white lower half. It is the only U.S. lighthouse with an elevator and was the last on shore manned lighthouse to be built. Only the Texas Tower Offshore Lighthouses
were built later starting in 1961 with Buzzards Bay Entrance Light
.
It has a DCB 24 light. It originally had 28 million candelas (candlepower)
and was the second most powerful in the Western Hemisphere. As the light was actually too dazzling, the power was lowered to 1.2 million candelas and could still be seen over 26 miles. Its characteristic
is two 0.2 s flashes separated by 4.8 s every 30 s. The light was automated in 1975.
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Sullivan's Island, South Carolina
Sullivan's Island is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, on a similarly named island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. The population was 1,911 at the 2000 census. It is also the site of a major battle of the American Revolution at Fort Sullivan on June 28, 1776. As...
, which is the northern entrance to Charleston Harbor
Charleston Harbor
The Charleston Harbor is an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Island, shelter the entrance...
, was built to replace the defunct Morris Island Light
Morris Island Light
Morris Island Light is a lighthouse on Morris Island in South Carolina. The light stands on the southern side of the entrance to Charleston Harbor, north of the City of Folly Beach....
on Morris Island
Morris Island
Morris Island is an 840 acre uninhabited island in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, accessible only by boat. The island lies in the outer reaches of the harbor and was thus a strategic location in the American Civil War.-History:...
. Construction was started in 1960, and it was first lit on June 15, 1962.
The lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
has a steel frame, an aluminum alloy skin, and a modern triangular cross section. It is 140 ft (42.7 m) tall. The focal plane of the light is 163 ft (49.7 m) above mean sea level. Originally painted white and red-orange, the daymark
Daymark
A daymark or a day marker is a structure such as a tower constructed on land as an aid to navigation by sailors. While similar in concept to a lighthouse, a daymark does not have a light and so is usually only visible during daylight hours...
is now a black upper half and white lower half. It is the only U.S. lighthouse with an elevator and was the last on shore manned lighthouse to be built. Only the Texas Tower Offshore Lighthouses
Texas Tower (lighthouse)
A Texas Tower lighthouse is a structure, similar to an off-shore oil platform, used as a platform for a lighthouse.-Examples:The first example in the United States was the Buzzards Bay Light, located in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, and commissioned on November 1, 1961...
were built later starting in 1961 with Buzzards Bay Entrance Light
Buzzards Bay Entrance Light
Buzzards Bay Entrance Light is a lighthouse located in open water at the entrance to Buzzards Bay, about four nautical miles west southwest of Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts.The light has a racon showing the letter "B"...
.
It has a DCB 24 light. It originally had 28 million candelas (candlepower)
Candlepower
Candlepower is a now-obsolete unit which was used to express levels of light intensity in terms of the light emitted by a candle of specific size and constituents...
and was the second most powerful in the Western Hemisphere. As the light was actually too dazzling, the power was lowered to 1.2 million candelas and could still be seen over 26 miles. Its characteristic
Characteristic light
A light characteristic is a graphic and text description of a navigational light sequence or colour displayed on a nautical chart or in a Light List with the chart symbol for a lighthouse, lightvessel, buoy or sea mark with a light on it. The graphic indicates how the real light beacon may be...
is two 0.2 s flashes separated by 4.8 s every 30 s. The light was automated in 1975.
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