Pigeon Point Lighthouse, built on California’s coast in 1871 south of Pescadero, has guided ships along the Pacific and served as a landmark for vessels approaching San Francisco Bay from the south. Its 115-foot white masonry tower is tied as the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast, and its name comes from the Carrier Pigeon, wrecked there in 1853. First lit in 1872, the station used a great first-order Fresnel lens later adapted to electricity before the original lens was retired in 1972. Now protected as a state historic park, the site faces restoration needs and growing threats from coastal erosion.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain