American Shoal Light
Encyclopedia
The American Shoal Light is located east of the Saddlebunch Keys
, close to Looe Key, in Florida
, USA. It was completed in 1880, and first lit on July 15, 1880. The structure was built to the same plan and dimensions as the Fowey Rocks lighthouse, completed in 1878.
American Shoal Light is cast iron, with a screw-pile
foundation with a platform and a skeletal tower. The Light is 109 feet (33.2 m) above the water. The keeper's octagonal dwelling is on a platform 40 feet (12 m) above the water. The tower framework and dwelling are painted brown, while the enclosed circular stair to the lantern is painted white. The original lens was a first-order drum Fresnel lens
, producing a flash every 5 seconds. The light was automated in 1963, and a fourth-order lens with solar-powered light was installed. The light has a nominal range of 14 miles (22.5 km) in the white sectors, and 10 miles (16.1 km) in the red sectors.
American Shoal Light was built by a Trenton, New Jersey
firm and took only 13 months to fabricate, ship, and erect on site. The site of the lighthouse was on the outermost reefs, and was covered with 4 feet (1 m) of water. The tower when completed cost about $94,000.
It is listed as number 1015 in the USCG light lists.
Saddlebunch Keys
The Saddlebunch Keys are a series of mangrove islands about 7 miles east of Key West, Florida.The keys are scattered between Lower Sugarloaf Key and Shark Key.U.S...
, close to Looe Key, in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, USA. It was completed in 1880, and first lit on July 15, 1880. The structure was built to the same plan and dimensions as the Fowey Rocks lighthouse, completed in 1878.
American Shoal Light is cast iron, with a screw-pile
Screw-pile lighthouse
A screw-pile lighthouse is a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms. The first screw-pile lighthouse was built by blind Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell...
foundation with a platform and a skeletal tower. The Light is 109 feet (33.2 m) above the water. The keeper's octagonal dwelling is on a platform 40 feet (12 m) above the water. The tower framework and dwelling are painted brown, while the enclosed circular stair to the lantern is painted white. The original lens was a first-order drum Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
, producing a flash every 5 seconds. The light was automated in 1963, and a fourth-order lens with solar-powered light was installed. The light has a nominal range of 14 miles (22.5 km) in the white sectors, and 10 miles (16.1 km) in the red sectors.
American Shoal Light was built by a Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
firm and took only 13 months to fabricate, ship, and erect on site. The site of the lighthouse was on the outermost reefs, and was covered with 4 feet (1 m) of water. The tower when completed cost about $94,000.
It is listed as number 1015 in the USCG light lists.
Historical information from Coast Guard web site
- As early as 1851 plans were made for the erection of a series of great offshore lighthouses to mark the dangerous Florida Reefs. These towers, all of skeleton iron construction, to resist hurricanes, were eventually built one at a time over a period of years, that on American Shoal completed in 1880, being the most recently constructed.