Piedras Blancas Light Station is a 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....

 on Point Piedras Blancas, about five and half miles (9 km) west by NW of San Simeon, California

San Simeon, California

San Simeon is a census-designated place on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California. Its position along State Route 1 is approximately halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, each of those cities being roughly 230 mi away...

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History

The first-order Fresnel lens on the 105-foot 10½-inch Piedras Blancas Lighthouse was first illuminated in 1875. On December 31, 1948 and January 1, 1949 three magnitude 3.8 to 4.6 earthquakes centered 6 miles (9.7 km) off the point damaged the lantern room. The lens, lantern room, watch room, and fourth landing were removed, reducing the height of the tower to 74 feet (22.6 m). The lens is now on display in the nearby community of Cambria

Cambria, California

Cambria is a seaside village located midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the California State Route 1 . The name Cambria was settled upon in 1869 .It is a census-designated place in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States...

.http://www.cambriahistoricalsociety.org/historicalnotes.html#lens The United States Lighthouse Establishment first staffed the site, from 1874 to 1939. The United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 staffed the light station from 1939 until 2001. When the tower was automated in 1975, the station was unmanned. The Bureau of Land Management acquired the site in 2001.

Current status

The light is an active aid to navigation; however, the sound signal has been silenced. The site is currently maintained by the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...

. Guided tours of the 19 acres (76,890.3 m²) restricted site are available every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (except Federal holidays) for a fee ($10.00 for adults; $5 for ages 6-17; free for ages 5 and under). Visitors experience early coastal history, early state history, maritime history, marine mammals, native coastal plants, native coastal animals, and native coastal insects in the BLM designated Outstanding Natural Area

Outstanding Natural Area

Outstanding Natural Area is a protected area designation in the United States. The designations are managed by the Bureau of Land Management within the National Landscape Conservation System. There are a number of outstanding natural areas and open space reserves in the country, three of which have...

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Pinniped colony

The largest elephant seal

Elephant seal

Elephant seals are large, oceangoing seals in the genus Mirounga. There are two species: the northern elephant seal and the southern elephant seal . Both were hunted to the brink of extinction by the end of the 19th century, but numbers have since recovered...

 rookery on the West Coast is located just south of the lighthouse. The fenced-in viewing vista is located just off of California Highway 1 and is open year-round.

Marine Protected Areas

Piedras Blancas State Marine Reserve and Marine Conservation Area are marine protected areas offshore from Piedras Blancas Light. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.

External links

• Piedras Blancas Light Station: Outstanding Natural Area - official site at Bureau of Land Management