North Head Lighthouse:

The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, installed in 1856, was obscured to ships approaching from the north by the headland extending southwest from the light.

To correct this, a lighthouse was built at North Head, which faces the ocean directly and would be clearly visible to ships traveling from the north.

The 65-foot (20 m) tower stood on a 130-foot (40 m) cliff. The lens was the first-order lens from Cape Disappointment, and was first lit in 1898. In 1935, the first-order lens was replaced by a fourth-order lens.

That lens was eventually replaced by an aerobeacon in the 1950s, and later by a modern optic mounted outside the tower. The light was automated in 1961.  Today the lighthouse is part of Cape Disappointment State Park.

Location: Ilwaco
State: Washington
Photographer: Elinor DeWire