Point Reyes Lighthouse

Point Reyes Lighthouse occupies a dramatic, wind- and fog-battered headland in the Gulf of the Farallones and became one of the most exposed light stations on the Pacific coast. Although assigned in 1855, the station was delayed by a land-price dispute until 1870, when its first-order Fresnel lens was first lit. The sixteen-sided iron tower, built on solid rock, stands 294 feet above sea level and is reached by descending 308 steps. The station long used a fog signal and radio beacon, served as a family post, gained electricity in 1938, was automated in 1975, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

California · United States