Fowey Rocks Light, Lighthouse on Fowey Rocks, Miami-Dade County, United States

Fowey Rocks Light is a cast-iron skeletal tower on a screw-pile foundation, its brown frame crossed by diagonal tie rods. Midway up, a white cylindrical stair column sits inside a square white dwelling with a tan shingled roof and black railing; above it a dark circular gallery rings the lantern, whose red and white panels end in a domed roof. The light stands 110 feet above the water, seven miles southeast of Cape Florida.

Fowey Rocks Light was completed in 1878 to replace the Cape Florida Light, marking the entrance to Hawk Channel through the Florida Keys. Workers lived on a platform built over the water during construction; on 17 February 1878 the steamship Arratoon Apcar ran aground 200 yards from that platform and sank. The tower was automated on 7 May 1975.

The name comes from HMS Fowey, a Royal Navy frigate that sank on nearby reefs in 1748, a shipwreck that shaped local maritime memory. This connection to naval history remains part of how people understand this stretch of water.

The lighthouse operates automatically using solar panels for power generation, with its rotating lantern visible from over 17 miles at sea. The best view of the structure comes from the water or nearby boats, as the reef location makes independent access challenging.

During construction, workers lived on a platform built over the water, and on 17 February 1878 the 1,500-ton steamship Arratoon Apcar ran aground just 200 yards away and sank; the wreck is now a scuba diving site. One early assistant keeper, Jefferson B. Browne, later became Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court.