Chesapeake Light
Encyclopedia
Chesapeake Light is an offshore lighthouse
marking the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay
. Once considered for decommissioning, it remains active and supports a NOAA weather data site.
, since lighthouse construction technology at the time was not adequate to the task of supporting a light in such waters. It remained on station (except during World War II
) until it was replaced by the present light, built in 1965 as one of six nearly identical "Texas Tower
" lights on the East Coast. The United States lightship Chesapeake (LV-116) which formerly was used at the site is now on display at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD.
The light was automated in 1980, though it was used in 2002-2003 by University of Maryland, Baltimore County students for research projects. The following year it was inspected by the Coast Guard with an eye toward dismantling it, as had happened earlier to the Ambrose
and Savannah
lights, both of which had been struck by ships. The inspection showed the light to be sound, and the light remains in active service. This makes Chesapeake Light the only Texas Tower still in use.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
marking the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
. Once considered for decommissioning, it remains active and supports a NOAA weather data site.
History
This station was first established in 1930 using a lightshipLightvessel
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship which acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction...
, since lighthouse construction technology at the time was not adequate to the task of supporting a light in such waters. It remained on station (except during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
) until it was replaced by the present light, built in 1965 as one of six nearly identical "Texas Tower
Texas Tower (lighthouse)
A Texas Tower lighthouse is a structure, similar to an off-shore oil platform, used as a platform for a lighthouse.-Examples:The first example in the United States was the Buzzards Bay Light, located in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, and commissioned on November 1, 1961...
" lights on the East Coast. The United States lightship Chesapeake (LV-116) which formerly was used at the site is now on display at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD.
The light was automated in 1980, though it was used in 2002-2003 by University of Maryland, Baltimore County students for research projects. The following year it was inspected by the Coast Guard with an eye toward dismantling it, as had happened earlier to the Ambrose
Ambrose Light
Ambrose Light, often called Ambrose Tower, was a light station at the convergence of several major shipping lanes in Lower New York Bay, including Ambrose Channel, the primary passage for ships entering and departing the Port of New York and New Jersey....
and Savannah
Savannah Light
Savannah Lighthouse was a lighthouse in Georgia,United States, off the entrance to Savannah River, Georgia. It was the second tower to be demolished after a collision with a foreign-flagged freighter.-History:...
lights, both of which had been struck by ships. The inspection showed the light to be sound, and the light remains in active service. This makes Chesapeake Light the only Texas Tower still in use.