Spectacle Reef Light
Location | Lake Huron, Michigan |
---|---|
Coordinates | 45°40′47.3″N 84°26′6″W / 45.679806°N 84.43500°W |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1871 |
Construction | Reinforced concrete/steel |
Height | Tower - 80 feet (24 m)[1] |
Shape | Conical on a rectangular house |
Markings | white w/red trim |
Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
Fog signal | HORN: 1 blast ev 15s (2s bl)[3] Diaphone. |
Light | |
First lit | 1874 |
Focal height | 26 m (85 ft) |
Lens | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
Range | 10.4 miles (16.7 km)[2] |
Characteristic | 0cculting W 4 seconds Operates year round. |
Spectacle Reef Light is a lighthouse eleven miles east of the Mackinac Straits and is located at the Northern End of Lake Huron, Michigan, U.S.A. . It was built by Colonel Orlando M. Poe, and was the most expensive lighthouse built on the Great Lakes. The construction was undertaken under the auspices of the Lighthouse Board, and was a feat of engineering and endurance. It was begun in 1871, in answer to the disastrous loss of a large number of ships during the 1860s at the site. In particular, two schooners went agroudnd and broke up in 1867.
The reef is shaped like a pair of eye glasses, and lies a mere seven feet below the surface of Lake Huron. at a point eleven miles east of the Mackinac Straits, a situation which worsened as commerce increased through the Straits, and from Lake Superior and Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.
References
Further reading
- "A Tour of the Lights of the Straits." Michigan History 70 (Sep/Oct 1986), pp. 17-29.
- Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses.
- Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein, The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses (2002) ISBN 1592231020; ISBN 978-1592231027.
- Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. ISBN 0814325548 ISBN 9780814325544.
- Jones, Ray & Bruce Roberts, American Lighthouses (Globe Pequot, September 1, 1998, 1st Ed.) ISBN 0762703245; ISBN 978-0762703241.
- Jones, Ray,The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ISBN 0762727357; ISBN 978-0762727353.
- Noble, Dennis, Lighthouses & Keepers: U. S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy (Annapolis: U. S. Naval Institute Press, 1997). ISBN 1557506388; ISBN 9781557506382.
- Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
- Penrod, John, Lighthouses of Michigan, (Berrien Center, Michigan: Penrod/Hiawatha, 1998) ISBN 9780942618785 ISBN 9781893624238.
- Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes".
- Putnam, George R., Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
- United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation, (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
- United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation Historical Bibliography.
- Wagner, John L. "Beacons Shining in the Night: The Lighthouses of Michigan". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.
- Wagner, John L., Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective, (East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner, 1998) ISBN 1880311011 ISBN 9781880311011.
- Wargin, Ed, Legends of Light: A Michigan Lighthouse Portfolio (Ann Arbor Media Group, 2006). ISBN 9781587262517.
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993
External links
- Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
- Interactive map, pictures, descriptions of Northern Lake Huron lights.
- Lighthouse Central, Spectacle Reef light The Ultimate Guide to East Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - July 2006). ISBN 0974797715; ISBN 9780974797717.
- Lighthouse Digest, Spectacle Reef Light, University of North Carolina.
- Lighthouses in the Mackinac Straits.
- Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Spectacle Reef Light.
- Michigan Lighthouse Fund, Spectacle Reef Light.
- National Park Service, Maritime Heritage Program, Inventory of Historic Lights, Spectacle Reef Light.
- Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Spectacle Reef Light.
- U.S. Coast Guard 's complete list of Michigan lights with photographs and descriptions, including Spectacle Reef Light.
- Volume 7, U.S. Coast Guard Lightlist (PDF).
- Wobser, David, Boatnerd.com, Spectacle Reef Light.