Lime Kiln Light, Maritime lighthouse in San Juan Island, Washington, US
Lime Kiln Light is a lighthouse on Lime Kiln Point, on the western side of San Juan Island, Washington, overlooking Dead Man's Bay. Its 38-foot (12 m) octagonal concrete tower rises from a one-story fog signal building; the tower is white and the lantern is grey. The design matches Alki Point Light in Seattle, and two keeper's houses date from the same period.
A light was first established on Lime Kiln Point in 1914, the last major light built in Washington. The present 12 m octagonal concrete tower, rising from the fog signal building, dates from 1919 and matches the Alki Point Light in Seattle. A fourth-order Fresnel lens was first exhibited on 30 June 1919; the station was automated in August 1962 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 14 December 1978.
The name Lime Kiln Point comes from the lime kilns built there in the 1860s, where limestone was burned to produce lime for construction. The kilns predate the 1914 acetylene light and the 1919 tower. Visitors can still see remnants of the kilns in the state park.
The light sends out regular white flashes that guide ships through the surrounding waterway with visibility extending many kilometers offshore. The location is accessible from the nearby shoreline, where visitors can view the exterior of the structure and the surrounding waters.
The location has become known to whale watchers because orca whales regularly pass through the surrounding waters. Scientists use the lighthouse grounds as a vantage point to observe and study these marine mammals.
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