More Lights

Cape Disappointment lighthouse has continued to watch over the entrance of the Columbia River since it was first lit on October 15, 1856. It stands fifty-three feet tall, has a focal plane of 220 feet above the sea, and tapers from a diameter of fourteen feet four inches at its base to ten feet six inches at the lantern room.  

A class C radio beacon was established at Cape Disappointment in 1936, and the following year the light was electrified. The Coast Guard planned to discontinue the light in 1965, claiming that the Columbia River Lightship and entrance range lights were sufficient to mark the river, but protests by the Columbia River Bar Pilots kept the light in service. The light was automated in 1973, and the patriarch of Northwest lighthouses remains active to this day. (info taken from: 
http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=115)

North Head Lighthouse consists of brick masonry with a cement plaster overlay built atop a sandstone foundation. Sixty-nine steps lead to the lantern room, which is sixty-five feet from the ground and 194 feet above sea level. The first-order Fresnel lens, which came from Cape Disappointment, was lit for the first time on May 16, 1898. 

Since North Head is only two miles north of Cape Disappointment, the two lights needed distinct signatures. A fixed-white characteristic was chosen for North Head, while Cape Disappointment displayed alternate red and white flashes.(info taken from: 

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=116)

Today I hope to start background painting for three more lighthouses: Tillamook Rock, Cape Meares, and Gray's Harbor, along with three beach/ocean scenes.