Seroe_Colorado_Lighthouse

Seroe Colorado Lighthouse

Seroe Colorado Lighthouse

Lighthouse

The Seroe Colorado Lighthouse, known also by the Colorado Point Lighthouse, is located in Seroe Colorado. It stands as one of two currently active lighthouses on the island.

Quick Facts Location, Tower ...

Geography

Seroe Colorado is the farthest southeastern point of the island and forms an approximately 38 metres (125 ft) high rounded plateau with an area of about 22 hectares (54 acres). On the eastern and southeastern sides of this steep cliff, it descends vertically towards the sea. On these steep rock walls, there is a tremendous surf, and from a distance, you can already see the white foam splashing high above the rocks, especially during strong trade winds.[1]

History

Aruba Phosphate Company at Seroe Colorado had a poorly equipped lighthouse in 1880. The tower had a square cross-section but tapered from the bottom to top.[2] This lighthouse had a petroleum lantern mounted on a wooden structure,[3] and the coastal lighting was inadequate. It was meant to serve as a beacon for passing ships but often emitted smoke, making it invisible even at a relatively short distance from the island.[4]

The original wooden tower was replaced with a stone tower and electric lighting in 1925.[3] However, much of the original construction no longer remains.[5]

The current lighthouse features: a light displayed at the top of an 8-metre-high (26 ft) tower, shielded by a wire cage.[6] With a focal height of 51 metres (167 ft) above sea level, the light can be seen for 21 nautical miles (39 km; 24 mi).[7][8]

left: Automated stone lighthouse (c. 1938–1940) right: Lighthouse front view: green door with staircase, bottom third section of tower is painted in white and the top two thirds is exposed concrete (c. 1950s)

See also

Sources

  • Berkhout, J. (1997). "De Vuurtoren van Westpunt Aruba" [Westpunt Aruba Lighthouse]. Arubaans Akkoord : Opstellen over Aruba van voor de komst van de olieindustrie [Aruba Accord: Writings about Aruba from before the arrival of the oil industry] (in Dutch). Stichting Libri Antilliani: Stichting Libri Antilliani. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  • Lampe, H.E. (1932). Aruba Voorheen en Thans [Aruba Then and Now]. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  • Nooyen, R.H. (1969). Aruba Nostra (in Dutch). Aruba. Retrieved 2023-08-28 – via Archive.org.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

References

  1. [1]
    DBNL. "De mijnen van Aruba., Neerlandia. Jaargang 15". DBNL (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  2. [2]
    Berkhout 1997, p. 87.
  3. [3]
    Nooyen 1969, p. 39.
  4. [4]
    Lampe 1932, p. 6.
  5. [5]
    "Seroe Colorado Lighthouse". Beaches of Aruba. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
  6. [6]
    Approximate height given by Rowlett
  7. [7]
    Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Aruba". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  8. [8]
    List of Lights, Pub. 110: Greenland, The East Coasts of North and South America (Excluding Continental U.S.A. Except the East Coast of Florida) and the West Indies (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2016.

12°25′06″N 69°52′09″W
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