August 9, 2009

Post date: Aug 13, 2009 3:48:42 PM

On Sunday we visited Point Reyes National Seashore. The sun was shining and the water was a beautiful turquoise blue. We first stopped at the beach, and later went to the lighthouse. The lighthouse sits on a tip of land that juts 10 miles out to sea. This location is the windiest place on the Pacific coast, and the second foggiest place on the North American continent. The highest wind speed ever recorded was 133 mph, and 60 mph winds are common. Lighthouse keepers sometimes had to climb on their hands and knees up the stairs to keep from being blown away. Weeks of fog are common in summer, as noted in 1885: "Fog, fog, and nothing but fog." In 1887, the local newspaper noted that "the fog sirens have been in operation for 176 consecutive hours now, and the attendants look as if they have been on a protracted spree." During winter storms, ocean spray spouts 200 feet into the air.

The lighthouse itself is a 16-sided 37-foot iron tower that is anchored to the cliff with large bolts. It houses a 3-ton Fresnel lens composed of 1,000 hand cut prisms and bull's eye glass. This 24-sided lens is 8 feet tall by 6 feet wide. Its rotating beam can be seen to the horizon (24 miles away). The light was first lit on December 1, 1870. Its beam is a white flash every 5 seconds. In 1975 the Coast Guard installed an automated signal at the point, and the lighthouse was turned over to the National Park Service.

Getting to and from the lighthouse is quite an effort. There are 308 stairs between the observation platform and the lighthouse below. Walking back up is equivalent to walking up the stairs of a 30-story building!