Cape St. Elias Light
 Top of Cape St. Elias light | |
 | |
| Location | Cape St. Elias Kayak Island Alaska United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 59°47′54″N 144°35′56″W / 59.79844°N 144.59897°W |
| Tower | |
| Foundation | rock |
| Construction | concrete tower |
| Automated | 1974 |
| Height | 55 feet (17 m) |
| Shape | square tower at one corner of fog signal building. |
| Markings | art deco architecture white tower, red lantern |
| Power source | solar power  |
| Operator | Cape St. Elias Lighthouse Keepers Association[1] [2] |
| Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1916 |
| Focal height | 85 feet (26 m) |
| Lens | Third-order Fresnel lens (original), VRB-25 aerobeacon (current) |
| Range | 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 10s. obscured from 160° to 287° and from 018.5 to 027° emergency light (Fl W 6s) of reduced intensity when main light is extinguished. |
Cape St. Elias Lighthouse | |
Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
| |
| Nearest city | Katalla, Alaska |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1915 |
| NRHP reference No. | 75002157[3] |
| AHRS No. | XMI-003 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 18, 1975 |
| Designated AHRS | 1970 |
The Cape St. Elias Light is a lighthouse on Kayak Island in Alaska.
History[edit]
Congress approved the construction of a light station at Cape St. Elias in October 1913, appropriating $115,000 for the construction. construction began in 1915 and a third order Fresnel lens was installed. In 1927 the station was equipped with radio beacon facilities, which was the second such facility in Alaska. The light was automated by the United States Coast Guard in 1974. In 1998 a solar powered Vega optic was installed, replacing the original lens, which is in the Cordova Museum in Cordova, Alaska. Cape St. Elias Lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It is now being leased by the Cape St. Elias Lightkeepers Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, restoring and sharing the lighthouse.[4]
It began operations in 1916, which was the year that the Alaska Engineering Commission started building the Alaska Railroad "which eventually established Southcentral Alaska as the economic hub of all Alaska". This lighthouse "proved to be an indispensable navigational aid along the shipping lanes from the contiguous American states and Southeastern Alaska to Cordova, Valdez, Seward, and Anchorage." Those ports could be notified of ships arriving, by station keeper radio that also was installed in 1916.[5]
Climate[edit]
| Climate data for Cape St. Elias Light, Alaska | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 49 (9) |
51 (11) |
62 (17) |
65 (18) |
74 (23) |
71 (22) |
78 (26) |
76 (24) |
75 (24) |
65 (18) |
55 (13) |
51 (11) |
78 (26) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 34.6 (1.4) |
36.6 (2.6) |
37.2 (2.9) |
42.6 (5.9) |
48.0 (8.9) |
53.6 (12.0) |
57.7 (14.3) |
58.3 (14.6) |
55.2 (12.9) |
47.6 (8.7) |
40.8 (4.9) |
36.7 (2.6) |
45.7 (7.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 31.0 (−0.6) |
33.2 (0.7) |
33.4 (0.8) |
38.3 (3.5) |
43.9 (6.6) |
49.6 (9.8) |
53.7 (12.1) |
54.5 (12.5) |
51.1 (10.6) |
43.4 (6.3) |
37.3 (2.9) |
33.3 (0.7) |
41.9 (5.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 27.4 (−2.6) |
29.8 (−1.2) |
29.5 (−1.4) |
33.9 (1.1) |
39.7 (4.3) |
45.5 (7.5) |
49.7 (9.8) |
50.7 (10.4) |
46.9 (8.3) |
39.2 (4.0) |
33.7 (0.9) |
29.8 (−1.2) |
38.0 (3.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 4 (−16) |
1 (−17) |
8 (−13) |
17 (−8) |
25 (−4) |
36 (2) |
30 (−1) |
33 (1) |
23 (−5) |
13 (−11) |
12 (−11) |
0 (−18) |
0 (−18) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 7.43 (189) |
7.12 (181) |
6.68 (170) |
6.15 (156) |
6.00 (152) |
4.08 (104) |
7.09 (180) |
9.66 (245) |
12.00 (305) |
12.41 (315) |
9.58 (243) |
9.70 (246) |
97.90 (2,487) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 22.1 (56) |
18.6 (47) |
13.2 (34) |
4.3 (11) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.6 (4.1) |
7.1 (18) |
19.7 (50) |
86.8 (220) |
| [citation needed] | |||||||||||||
See also[edit]
- List of lighthouses in the United States
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Chugach Census Area, Alaska
References[edit]
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Alaska". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
- ^ Alaska Historic Light Station Information & Photography USCG. Retrieved 7 June 2016
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Alaska" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ C. M. Brown (March 10, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Cape St. Elias Lighthouse". National Park Service. and accompanying photo from 1972
External links[edit]
- Lighthouse Friends — Cape St. Elias Lighthouse
- Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Alaska". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Picture of Cape St. Elias Light
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