Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas has a focal height of 31 metres, a tower height of 27 metres and a range of 30 nautical miles. It was built in 1849.
- Focal height
- 31 metres
- Tower height
- 27 metres
- Range
- 30 nautical miles
- Built
- 1849
- Light characteristic
- Fl W 5s
- Coordinates
- -34.81889, 20.00917
The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse is located in the village of L'Agulhas, Western Cape, South Africa, and is situated at the southernmost tip of Africa. It was built in 1848 and first lit in 1849, making it the third-built lighthouse in South Africa and the second-oldest still operating. The lighthouse has a cylindrical tower with a balcony and lantern rising from a one-story keeper's house, and it is made of sandstone.
The lighthouse stands at a height of 27 meters and has a focal height of 31 meters. It has a red tower with a white band and a white lantern, and it uses a first-order Fresnel lens to produce a light intensity of 7,500,000 candelas. The light has a range of 30 nautical miles and a characteristic of flashing white every 5 seconds. The lighthouse was automated at some point, but the exact date is not specified.
The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse has an interesting history, with the idea for its construction first suggested by Colonel Charles Collier Michell in 1837. The lighthouse was funded by a combination of local and international donations, and it was completed in 1848 at a cost of £15,871. The lighthouse was taken out of service in 1968 due to crumbling sandstone walls, but it was restored and is now a national monument and a Western Cape provincial heritage site. It is currently managed by the South African National Parks and is considered a prominent historic engineering project and International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
Light and tower
It has a cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern rising from one-story keeper's house tower. The tower is built of sandstone. Its daymark is red tower with a white band, white lantern. The light has a focal height of 31 metres. The light has a range of 30 nautical miles. Its light characteristic is Fl W 5s. It carries a [[Fresnel lens|1st order Fresnel]] lens. It is managed by South African National Parks.
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Details
- Name
- Cape Agulhas Lighthouse
- Notes
- National monument, Provincial Heritage Site
- Marking
- red tower with a white band, white lantern
- Range Nm
- 30
- Lens Type
- [[Fresnel lens|1st order Fresnel]]
- Year Built
- 1849-03-01
- Description
- The '''Cape Agulhas Lighthouse''' is at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. At 171 years old, it is the third-built lighthouse in South Africa, and the second-oldest still operating, after Green Point. It is located on the southern edge of the village of L'Agulhas, in the Agulhas National Park; the light is operated by Transnet National Ports Authority. In 2016, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) identified the lighthouse as a deserving prominent historic engineering project and International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
- Tower Shape
- cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern rising from one-story keeper's house
- Image Caption
- Cape Agulhas Lighthouse
- Location Text
- Cape Agulhas, WC
- Focal Height M
- 31
- Managing Agent
- South African National Parks
- Tower Height M
- 27
- Year Deactivated
- 1968
- Intensity Candelas
- 7,500,000 [[candela|cd]]
- Light Characteristic
- Fl W 5s
- Construction Material
- sandstone tower