Farallon Island Light, Maritime lighthouse in Southeast Farallon Island, California.
Farallon Island Light is a lighthouse on Southeast Farallon Island, a small and rocky outcrop off the California coast roughly 27 miles (43 km) west of San Francisco. The tower stands on a steep, exposed island that has no permanent public access, sitting above the water with no vegetation around it.
The lighthouse was first built in 1853, making it one of the earliest on the West Coast of the US, but it had to be fully rebuilt just two years later due to structural problems. The rebuilt version was fitted with a more powerful lens that served ships for many decades.
The name Farallon comes from a Spanish word meaning small rocky cliff, which describes exactly what a visitor sees from the water. The tower rises from bare, windswept rock with no trees or shelter in sight, giving the place a raw and exposed appearance.
The island is closed to the general public as it is a protected wildlife area, but the lighthouse can be seen from boat tours that depart from San Francisco. The waters around the island can be rough, so visitors on such tours should dress for wind and cold even in summer.
During the early years of operation, a mule lived on the island and was used to carry supplies across the steep terrain, as no other means of transport was available. This detail gives a sense of how isolated and demanding life was for the keepers who lived there.
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