International Lighthouse Day
August 18 is International Lighthouse Day. To honor these graceful and romantic structures, here are a few lighthouse facts:
~There are more than 9000 surviving lighthouses around the world.
~The first known lighthouse was built at Alexandria, Egypt around 300 B.C. The Pharos of Alexandria was one of the wonders of the ancient world.
~The oldest existing lighthouse is the one at La Coruna, Spain. It is believed to date from 20 B.C.
~The US state with the most lighthouses was not California or Florida, but Michigan, which borders on three of the Great Lakes. The state had 90 lighthouses at one time.
~The first US lighthouse was built on Boston’s Little Brewster Island in 1716.
~The tallest lighthouse ever built was at Cape Hatteras, NC. It stands 196 feet tall.
(photo of Cleveland Ohio’s West Pierpoint Lighthouse © istockphoto)
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1 opinion for International Lighthouse Day
Linette
Aug 28, 2008 at 8:37 am
I love lighthouses, I’ve been to most of the lighthouses in the Outer Banks, the Hatteras, and Currituck Beach lighthouses are my favorites.
I really want to go see some of the lighthouses along the Great Lakes one day soon.
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