Cape Beale Lightstation is an active manned
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
on
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...
in
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada.
History
The lighthouse was built in 1874 and its
focal plane
In Gaussian optics, the cardinal points consist of three pairs of points located on the optical axis of a rotationally symmetric, focal, optical system. These are the '' focal points'', the principal points, and the nodal points; there are two ...
is 51 meters above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
. The present tower was built in 1958 and marks the entrance to
Barkley Sound
Barkley Sound, also known historically as Barclay Sound, is south of Ucluelet and north of Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of ...
. It is 10 metres tall. Cape Beale received its name from
Charles William Barkley, captain of the ''
Imperial Eagle
The eagle is used in heraldry as a charge, as a supporter, and as a crest. Heraldic eagles can be found throughout world history like in the Achaemenid Empire or in the present Republic of Indonesia. The European post-classical symbolism of ...
'', who named it for his ship's purser, John Beale. The lighthouse is best known for its proximity to the
West Coast Trail
The West Coast Trail, originally called the Dominion Lifesaving Trail, is a Backpacking (wilderness), backpacking trail following the southwestern edge of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It was built in 1907 to facilitate the resc ...
which is the theoretical route survivors of shipwrecks would take to get to the nearby community of
Bamfield
Bamfield is a community that is surrounded by Crown Land, First Nation Lands belonging to the Huu-ay-aht Nations, and portions of the Pacific Rim National Park, located on Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The commu ...
.
From 1971 to 1998, the Cape Beale Light was part of the
British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program
The British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program is a sea surface temperature and salinity monitoring program on the Canadian coast of the northeast Pacific Ocean. The program is administered by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and regroups 12 ...
, collecting coastal water temperature and salinity measurements for the
Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; ) is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland ...
everyday for 27 years.
Geography and climate
Cape Beale Light has a rainy and mild
Oceanic
Oceanic may refer to:
*Of or relating to the ocean
*Of or relating to Oceania
**Oceanic climate
**Oceanic languages
**Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)"
Places
* Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Cfb'';
Trewartha: ''Dolk'').
See also
*
List of lighthouses in Canada
This is a list of lighthouses in Canada. These may naturally be divided into lighthouses on the Pacific coast, on the Arctic Ocean, in the Hudson Bay watershed, on the Labrador Sea and Gulf of St. Lawrence, in the St. Lawrence River watershed ...
*
List of lighthouses in British Columbia
This is a list of lighthouses in the province of British Columbia, Canada.
Lighthouses
See also
*List of lighthouses in Canada
References
External links
*
List of Lights, Buoys and Fog Signals''Canadian Coast Guard''. Retrieved 19 March ...
*
Graveyard of the Pacific
The Graveyard of the Pacific is a somewhat loosely defined stretch of the Pacific Northwest coast stretching from around Tillamook Bay on the Oregon Coast northward past the treacherous Columbia Bar and Juan de Fuca Strait, up the rocky wester ...
*
References
*
External links
*
Aids to Navigation''Canadian Coast Guard''
Cape Beale LightstationBamfield, British Columbia
Lighthouses completed in 1874
Lighthouses completed in 1958
Lighthouses in British Columbia
Historic buildings and structures in British Columbia
{{BritishColumbia-lighthouse-stub