Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Lighthouses of the Oregon Coast
This week’s Friendly Friday photo challenge, ‘Illumination,’ reminded me of the many lighthouses we saw on our recent trip to the Oregon Coast.
Heceta Bay Lighthouse stands 205 feet above the Pacific Ocean on Heceta Head north of Florence. The light shining from the 56-foot-high tower flashes white every ten seconds and can be seen 21 miles from land, the strongest on the Oregon Coast.
Umpqua River Lighthouse is almost identical architecturally to the one at Heceta Head except for the lens. It’s the only lighthouse on the Oregon Coast to emit a red and white light; a red flash is followed by two white ones during a 15-second interval.
Yaquina Bay Lighthouse served for the shortest period of time. Built in 1871 and decommissioned in 1874 it was made obsolete when Yaquina Head Lighthouse was built. It sits on top of a bluff at the mouth of the Yaquina River, and is the only existing Oregon lighthouse with the living quarters attached.
Yaquina Head Lighthouse is Oregon’s tallest at 93 feet, and made Yaquina Bay Lighthouse obsolete when it was constructed in 1873.
Coquille River Lighthouse near Bandon, was built in 1896 to guide ships across the treacherous bar at the entrance to the Coquille River. It is no longer operable.
Lighthouses warn mariners of rocky coasts, shallow waters and other hidden dangers, and help guide them safely into harbors. Even though GPS and other electronic devices now assist mariners with navigation, lighthouses still provide illumination as an important backup when other systems fail.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
As a former mariner, I’ve always liked lighthouses, partly for their illumination and partly for their navigation significance. Oregon’s coast, along with Washington’s, has some splendid lighthouses that were a Godsend to sailors in days gone by. Your photos do them justice.
Thanks so much for your comment. I loved seeing so many lighthouses on one trip, each unique and beautiful.
Great twist on the prompt. Such pretty lighthouses. They are all unique I believe, is that right? Thanks for joining in on Friendly Friday Photo Challenge.
Thanks so much! Yes, they are all unique! I’m happy to have found your challenge. 😊
👍
What a great selection of lighthouses, Susanne. I always seek them out, and we have many around here. You may remember you commented on this post, in 2017. The lighthouse is in the town centre, surrounded by houses. 🙂
https://beetleypete.com/2017/03/18/a-southwold-birthday/
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks Pete! Great pictures! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lighthouse in the middle of a town before, except in your post! 😊
I have always liked lighthouses too! There is one that I’ve been to on the Central California coast where they take you on a tour of the inside but I can’t remember the name of it…
There are tours available at some of these but we didnt take any this time.
Maine has wonderful ones since there are so many treacherous waters near the coast.
While researching lighthouses in the US I learned that Michigan has the most, followed by Maine.
I forget about Michigan’s coastline.
Me too! I never would have guessed it had the most, and by a great number too, around 130 or so. Maine has around 60, Oregon only 11. Not at all what I expected to find.