What
Lighthouses Look Like |
August
2002
|
There
are many different kinds of lighthouses. Each lighthouse design
is based on the land it is built on, its purpose, and the technology
available. Some lighthouse towers stand alone and others are
connected to the keeper’s house. The towers are round,
square (4-sided), octagonal (8-sided), or conical (like an
upside-down ice cream cone).
On
flat areas, like Cape May and Absecon, the lighthouses needed
to be very tall so ships could see the light. Other lighthouses
are short because they are on a hill. An example is the Twin
Lights of Navesink.
Lighthouses
built in the ocean needed to survive strong waves and fierce
wind. Builders made some offshore lighthouses out of stone.
They put the stones together on land to make sure they fit.
Then they took them apart and rebuilt them onsite. Other offshore
lighthouses were made with metal beams. They look like a skeleton
because nothing covers the metal.
The
way a lighthouse looks also tells a captain where the ship
is. Each lighthouse is painted with a different design. No
two lighthouses have the same set of stripes and colors. So
if a ship sailed past a lighthouse that was red on top and
white on the bottom, the crew would know that was Barnegat
Lighthouse. A tower’s design is called a daymark because
that’s how ships can tell where they are.
Next: Lighthouse
Lights
|