Point Reyes Lighthouse facts for kids

The Point Reyes Lighthouse is a famous lighthouse located on Point Reyes in California, United States. It stands on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. This lighthouse helps ships find their way safely. It is part of the Point Reyes National Seashore, a beautiful park. Visitors can learn about the lighthouse and the amazing ocean life there.

The park has a Lighthouse Visitor Center. It shows exhibits about the lighthouse and the park's sea animals. You can climb about 300 steps down to the lighthouse itself. This is allowed when the weather is good. The main room of the lighthouse is called the Lens Room. It holds the special Fresnel lens and its clockwork parts. This room is open to the public at certain times.

History of the Lighthouse

Building the Point Reyes Light

People decided a lighthouse was needed at Point Reyes in 1855. But it took 15 years to build. This was because of disagreements about buying the land. The lighthouse tower has 16 sides and is 37 feet (11 meters) tall. It looks like the Cape Mendocino Light tower.

The powerful Fresnel lens was first lit on December 1, 1870. Electricity came to the lighthouse in 1938. Concrete steps were built into the cliff in 1939. The lighthouse became automated in 1975. This means machines took over the work of the lighthouse keepers.

Life at the Lighthouse Station

The Point Reyes Light Station was built in 1870. It is about 19 miles (31 km) from the town of Inverness. Four people used to work there. They kept the light, fog signal, and radio beacon working. The light tower is made of strong iron plates. It is bolted to solid rock.

The top of the light is 37 feet (11 meters) above the ground. The light itself shines from 294 feet (90 meters) above sea level. To reach the light, workers had to go down 308 steps from their homes. New family homes were built in 1960. Other buildings included a fog signal building and an engine room.

Point Reyes is known as one of the windiest and foggiest places on the Pacific Coast. The station often has fog for weeks at a time. Strong winds of 75 to 100 miles per hour (121 to 161 km/h) hit the area almost every year.

A Popular Tourist Spot

The Point Reyes Light Station is a very popular place for tourists. On nice summer weekends, hundreds of visitors would come. Helping visitors became a big part of the workers' jobs. Children living at the station traveled three miles (five kilometers) to school by car.

The Point Reyes Light Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. This means it is an important historical site.

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See also

• Camp Hydle
• List of lighthouses in the United States
• Point Reyes Lifeboat Station, also listed on the National Register