The Cape Sorell Lighthouse is a
heritage-listed
This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ...
that is located on
Cape Sorell in the
West Coast region of
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, Australia. The lighthouse is situated approximately southwest of .
Constructed and first lit in 1899, the lighthouse is the only structure remaining from a brick complex of tower, three houses and engine room, except for the foundation remnants of the three keepers' residences.
[
The ]light characteristic
A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists with the ch ...
is a group of two flashes that occurs every fifteen seconds, 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. For ''ideal'' s ...
is at above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''.
The ...
with a white light intensity of 208,000 candlepower
Candlepower (abbreviated as cp or CP) is a unit of measurement for luminous intensity. It expresses levels of light intensity relative to the light emitted by a candle of specific size and constituents. The historical candlepower is equal to 0.981 ...
, visible for and the red, of 83,000 candlepower, visible for .[
Initially fed by vapourised ]kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning " wax", and was reg ...
, the station was automated in 1971 and in 1998, the light was converted to solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic ef ...
.
Further automation occurred in 2012.
See also
* History of Tasmania
The history of Tasmania begins at the end of the most recent ice age (approximately 10,000 years ago) when it is believed that the island was joined to the Australian mainland. Little is known of the human history of the island until the Briti ...
* List of lighthouses in Tasmania
References
External links
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Lighthouses completed in 1899
Lighthouses in Tasmania
Tasmanian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate
Commonwealth Heritage List places in Tasmania
1899 establishments in Australia
Cape Sorell
Tasmanian Heritage Register
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