Langara Light

Lighthouse in British Columbia, Canada

Lighthouse

54°15′19.4″N 133°03′33.8″W / 54.255389°N 133.059389°W / 54.255389; -133.059389TowerConstructed1913Constructionconcrete towerHeight7.5 metres (25 ft)Shapehexagonal frustum six ribbed tower with balcony and lanternMarkingswhite tower, red lanternOperatorCanadian Coast Guard^[1]Heritagerecognized federal heritage building of Canada, heritage lighthouse

LightFirst lit1913

Focal height49 metres (161 ft)Range8 nmi (15 km; 9.2 mi)

CharacteristicFl W 5s.

The Langara Point Lighthouse is a staffed lighthouse located atop a scenic bluff on the northwest corner of Langara Island. It is one of only two lighthouses in Haida Gwaii – the other being at Cape St. James (now an automated station), at the southern tip of the islands. Both were built in 1913.

During World War II, the lighthouse was painted camouflage green and a radar station was built here to monitor the North Pacific.

The original light, still in use today, is a first-order Fresnel lens (the largest type of lighthouse lens) manufactured by Chance Brothers of England. Each side of the lens is over 8 feet (2.4 m) tall and 5 feet (1.5 m) wide with a focal length of 3 feet (0.91 m).

The lighthouse is easily seen from the water and tours are possible via helicopter. Guests to Langara Island can enjoy a 1-2 hour tour of the lighthouse and its surrounding grounds, usually including a trip up to the top of the light tower, as well as coffee or tea with the lightkeepers.

The Langara Light is one of 12 lighthouses part of the British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program, collecting coastal water temperature and salinity measurements everyday since 1936.^[2]

Keepers

Head Keepers: James T. Forsyth 1913–1918
William J. Stinson 1918–1919
J. McCann 1919
George Armstrong 1919–1932
H. Greenwood 1932–1936
Gordon Odlum 1941–1942
William Norman Kinnear 1943–1945
Neil Lange 1945–1947
Richard Crawford 1948–1950
Otto Lindstrom 1950–1953
George Brown 1953–1957
Edward Albert Hartt 1957–1963
Wilf Redlac 1963–1964
Maurice Collette 1967–1971
Ken Wallace 1971–1973
Tom E. Carr 1973–1975
Charles Redhead 1975–1982
Edward J. Ashe 1982–1983
Kenneth Brunn 1983–1989
Warren Kennedy 1989–1992
Gordon Schweers 1992–2010
Stanley Westhaver 2010–present^[3]

References

^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Canada: Southern British Columbia". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
^ Fisheries and Oceans Canada (2019-03-21). "Data from BC lightstations". www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
^ Langara Point Lighthouse Friends

"Langara Point Light". Lighthouse Depot. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Canada: Southern British Columbia". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 8 September 2008.