Home»All Photographs»Travel Adventures»Kilauea Point Lighthouse - 4/07/2009

Kauai, Hawaii

Kilauea Point is the northernmost outpost of the main Hawaiian Island chain and was acquired by the U.S. government in 1909. A U.S. Coast Guard station was established in 1913, and a 52-foot-tall, reinforced-concrete lighthouse was constructed atop the cliff.

The world's largest clamshell Fresnel lens was lit by an oil-vapor lamp and produced a beam that could be seen 90 miles away. Lighthouse engineers devised a massive weight, cable, and pulley system, called a "clock," to turn the 4-ton lens, creating a signature double-flash every 10 seconds.

The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1976, when an automated electronic beacon was installed. Today, the area is a National Refuge.