Langara Light, Heritage lighthouse on Langara Island, North Coast Regional District, Canada
Langara Light is a hexagonal concrete tower topped by a red gallery and lantern, standing on a bluff at the northwest corner of Langara Island. Its first-order Fresnel lens, made by Chance Brothers of England, remains in use and produces a white flash every five seconds at a focal height of 45 metres.
Langara Point Lighthouse was built in 1913, one of two lighthouses raised that year in Haida Gwaii, the other at Cape St. James. During World War II it was painted camouflage green and a radar station was built beside it to monitor the North Pacific. It is now a recognized federal heritage building and a heritage lighthouse under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, designated 12 February 2015.
The name Langara comes from Juan de Lángara, the Spanish admiral and navigator whose ships charted this coast in the 1790s. The station has been staffed continuously since 1913; Gordon Schweers served as head keeper from 1992 to 2010, and Stanley Westhaver took over in 2010. Visitors on a helicopter tour are usually offered coffee or tea with the keepers.
The lighthouse is staffed and can only be reached by helicopter; tours of the tower and grounds, usually 1–2 hours including a climb to the top and coffee or tea with the keepers, are arranged through helicopter operators. The light is also easily seen from the water.
The original first-order Fresnel lens by Chance Brothers of England remains in service. Each side measures over 8 feet (2.4 m) tall and 5 feet (1.5 m) wide, with a focal length of 3 feet (0.91 m). The light shows a white flash every 5 seconds at a focal height of 45 m, visible for 8 nautical miles.
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