Where Are We?

The diamond paint pattern on the Cape Lookout lighthouse serves as its daymark, helping mariners identify their position during daylight when the guiding light is less useful. A lighthouse’s shape, height, color, and paint pattern can reveal its identity, and daymarks distinguish one lighthouse from another. Among North Carolina’s seven lights, Cape Lookout is recognized by its diamonds, unlike others such as Bodie Island and Cape Hatteras. At Cape Lookout, the pattern is especially functional because it signifies not only location but direction as well: white diamonds face east-west, and black diamonds face north-south.

North Carolina · United States