Reykjanesviti
Encyclopedia
Reykjanesviti is Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

's oldest lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

. It serves as a landfall light for Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...

 and Keflavík
Keflavík
Keflavík is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. In 2009 its population was of 8,169.In 1995 it merged with Njarðvík and Hafnir to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær with a population of 13,971 .- History :...

.

History

The tower is a 31 metre
Metre
The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...

s tall construction, situated on the southwestern edge of the Reykjanes peninsula. The original structure was built in 1878; just eight years later the building was destroyed by an earthquake. In 1929 the current Reykjanesviti lighthouse, a concrete construction yet with traditional looks, was illuminated. Its focal plane measures 73 metres above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

.

The light characteristic is "Fl(2) 30 s", i.e. a group of two flashing lights every 30 seconds. An antenna for the transmission of DGPS-signals in the longwave range is mounted on the rooftop. There is also a two-story keeper's residence built in the modern area, and the lighthouse has a resident keeper. The lighthouse is located near an area of thermal activity, and steam from this source is often seen in photographs of the lighthouse.

External links

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