York Spit Light
Encyclopedia
The York Spit Light was a lighthouse
located at the mouth of the York River
in the Chesapeake Bay
, marking a long shoal
paralleling the main channel into the river.
s stationed at this location beginning in 1853. Extra fender piles were added to the usual six pile structure in order to provide extra stability against the current. In 1903 riprap
was placed around the piles for additional protection. A hurricane in September 1933 damaged the light.
The house was removed and replaced with an automated light in 1960 as part of the program of decommissioning at that time. More recently this light was damaged in a hurricane, and a separate light on a single pole was erected next to the old screw-pile foundation.
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....
located at the mouth of the York River
York River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
in the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, marking a long shoal
Shoal
Shoal, shoals or shoaling may mean:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals: see Draft...
paralleling the main channel into the river.
History
This light replaced lightshipLightvessel
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship which acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction...
s stationed at this location beginning in 1853. Extra fender piles were added to the usual six pile structure in order to provide extra stability against the current. In 1903 riprap
Riprap
Riprap — also known as rip rap, rubble, shot rock or rock armour or "Rip-rap" — is rock or other material used to armor shorelines, streambeds, bridge abutments, pilings and other shoreline structures against scour, water or ice erosion.It is made from a variety of rock types, commonly granite or...
was placed around the piles for additional protection. A hurricane in September 1933 damaged the light.
The house was removed and replaced with an automated light in 1960 as part of the program of decommissioning at that time. More recently this light was damaged in a hurricane, and a separate light on a single pole was erected next to the old screw-pile foundation.