Maritime Sentinels

Primary seacoast lights warned mariners of their proximity to land, areas of danger, and helped them set their course. Sandy Hook and Navesink Twin Lights marked the entrance to New York Harbor, while Cape May and Cape Henlopen Lighthouses marked the entrance to Delaware Bay. By 1852, lighthouses and lightships often looked so much alike that it was difficult to distinguish one from another. Today, each lighthouse has a characteristic, or coded sequence of light flashes, that makes it possible for the mariner to identify the light and its location along the coast. For example, Barnegat Light's characteristic was a flash every 10 seconds at each point of the compass. Each lighthouse is also designed or painted in a distinctive pattern, called a daymark, which makes it easy to identify by day. Absecon Lighthouse is painted yellow-black-yellow so mariners will not mistake it for any other lighthouse. Some lighthouses, especially those located on dangerous shoals, are also equipped with fog signals to warn mariners of potential danger.

Barnegat Light, New Jersey · United States