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104-448: The Old Higher Lighthouse is a disused 19th century lighthouse on the Isle of Portland , Dorset , southern England . It is located at Branscombe Hill on the west side of Portland, overlooking Portland Bill . The lighthouse is Grade II Listed . The surrounding coast of Portland, namely Portland Bill and Chesil Beach , have been notorious for the many vessels that became shipwrecked in

208-402: A rescue service , if necessary. Improvements in maritime navigation and safety, such Global Positioning System (GPS), led to the phasing out of non-automated lighthouses across the world. Although several closed due to safety concerns, Canada still maintains 49 staffed lighthouses, split roughly evenly across east and west coasts. The remaining modern lighthouses are usually illuminated by

312-640: A Diesel generator for backup. Many Fresnel lens installations have been replaced by rotating aerobeacons , which require less maintenance. In modern automated lighthouses, the system of rotating lenses is often replaced by a high intensity light that emits brief omnidirectional flashes, concentrating the light in time rather than direction. These lights are similar to obstruction lights used to warn aircraft of tall structures. Later innovations were "Vega Lights", and experiments with light-emitting diode (LED) panels. LED lights, which use less energy and are easier to maintain, had come into widespread use by 2020. In

416-516: A city with a population of fewer than 250,000 inhabitants. The plan is to put a covenant on the land and to encourage a civic consultation on redevelopment of the site. The current mayor is Inés Rey of PSdeG-PSOE . After the War of Independence (1808–1814), the fortunes of Ferrol began to deteriorate. The largest port in northern Spain, site of the Reales Astilleros de Esteiro , one of

520-557: A few garrisons, and the city was no more than a village amidst Roman ruins, the invaders showed the same lack of interest in the ruined city as they did generally for the region. As the city began to recover during the Middle Ages the main problem for the inhabitants was the Norman raids, as well as the ever-present threat of raids ( razzias ) from Al-Andalus to the south. During the 9th century there were several Viking attacks on

624-436: A filament source. Experimental installations of laser lights, either at high power to provide a "line of light" in the sky or, utilising low power, aimed towards mariners have identified problems of increased complexity in installation and maintenance, and high power requirements. The first practical installation, in 1971 at Point Danger lighthouse , Queensland , was replaced by a conventional light after four years, because

728-457: A form of concrete that will set under water used by the Romans, and developed a technique of securing the granite blocks together using dovetail joints and marble dowels . The dovetailing feature served to improve the structural stability , although Smeaton also had to taper the thickness of the tower towards the top, for which he curved the tower inwards on a gentle gradient. This profile had

832-414: A horizontal plane, and horizontally the light is focused into one or a few directions at a time, with the light beam swept around. As a result, in addition to seeing the side of the light beam, the light is directly visible from greater distances, and with an identifying light characteristic . This concentration of light is accomplished with a rotating lens assembly. In early lighthouses, the light source

936-582: A large gulf on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the main industrial and financial centre of northern Galicia, and holds the headquarters of the Universidade da Coruña . A Coruña is the Spanish city featuring the tallest mean-height of buildings, also featuring a population density of 21,972 inhabitants per square kilometre (56,910/sq mi) of built land area. There is no clear evidence as to what

1040-438: A massive influx of Galician-speaking rural dwellers, into their quickly developed neighbourhoods. The period between 1960 and 1980 saw a big transformation in most areas of the city from being agricultural dwellings to urban districts. The international oil shocks of the mid and late 1970s severely disrupted the economy, causing many bankruptcies and high unemployment until the mid-1980s, when slower but steady economic development

1144-427: A more powerful hyperradiant Fresnel lens manufactured by the firm of Chance Brothers . While lighthouse buildings differ depending on the location and purpose, they tend to have common components. A light station comprises the lighthouse tower and all outbuildings, such as the keeper's living quarters, fuel house, boathouse, and fog-signaling building. The Lighthouse itself consists of a tower structure supporting

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1248-602: A navigator with a line of position called a range in North America and a transit in Britain. Ranges can be used to precisely align a vessel within a narrow channel such as a river. With landmarks of a range illuminated with a set of fixed lighthouses, nighttime navigation is possible. Such paired lighthouses are called range lights in North America and leading lights in the United Kingdom. The closer light

1352-521: A number of screw-pile lighthouses. Englishman James Douglass was knighted for his work on the fourth Eddystone Lighthouse. United States Army Corps of Engineers Lieutenant George Meade built numerous lighthouses along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts before gaining wider fame as the winning general at the Battle of Gettysburg . Colonel Orlando M. Poe , engineer to General William Tecumseh Sherman in

1456-402: A particular color (usually formed by colored panes in the lantern) to distinguish safe water areas from dangerous shoals. Modern lighthouses often have unique reflectors or racon transponders so the radar signature of the light is also unique. Before modern strobe lights , lenses were used to concentrate the light from a continuous source. Vertical light rays of the lamp are redirected into

1560-490: A population density of around 6,700 inhabitants per square kilometer. In 2010, there were 12,344 foreigners living in the city, representing 5% of the total population. The main nationalities are Brazilians (10%), Colombians (8%) and Peruvians (7%). By language, according to 2008 data, 7.75% of the population speak Galician as a primary language, 36% speak Spanish and the rest use both interchangeably. The A Coruña metropolitan area has 431,332 inhabitants. The city

1664-411: A reservoir mounted above the burner. The lamp was first produced by Matthew Boulton , in partnership with Argand, in 1784, and became the standard for lighthouses for over a century. South Foreland Lighthouse was the first tower to successfully use an electric light in 1875. The lighthouse's carbon arc lamps were powered by a steam-driven magneto . John Richardson Wigham was the first to develop

1768-594: A similar rate to other major Galician cities, but it was after the death of Francisco Franco when the city of A Coruña (and Vigo) left all the other Galician cities behind. The meteoric increase in the population of the City of A Coruña during the years which followed the Spanish Civil War in the mid-20th century was accompanied by the decline in the villages and hamlets of the province as it industrialized. The municipality of A Coruña has 247,604 inhabitants and

1872-415: A single stationary flashing light powered by solar-charged batteries and mounted on a steel skeleton tower. Where the power requirement is too great for solar power alone, cycle charging of the battery by a Diesel generator is provided. The generator only comes into use when the battery needs charging, saving fuel and increasing periods between maintenance. John Smeaton is noteworthy for having designed

1976-477: A system for gas illumination of lighthouses. His improved gas 'crocus' burner at the Baily Lighthouse near Dublin was 13 times more powerful than the most brilliant light then known. The vaporized oil burner was invented in 1901 by Arthur Kitson , and improved by David Hood at Trinity House . The fuel was vaporized at high pressure and burned to heat the mantle, giving an output of over six times

2080-484: A total of four cottages within its grounds, both the Branscombe Lodge Cottage and Stopes Cottage are now available as holiday lets. Lighthouse Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals , reefs , rocks, and safe entries to harbors; they also assist in aerial navigation . Once widely used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance and

2184-505: A warning signal for reefs and promontories , unlike many modern lighthouses. The most famous lighthouse structure from antiquity was the Pharos of Alexandria , Egypt , which collapsed following a series of earthquakes between 956 and 1323. The intact Tower of Hercules at A Coruña , Spain gives insight into ancient lighthouse construction; other evidence about lighthouses exists in depictions on coins and mosaics, of which many represent

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2288-561: Is a city and municipality in Galicia , Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo . The city is the provincial capital of the province of A Coruña , having also served as political capital of the Kingdom of Galicia from the 16th to the 19th centuries, and as a regional administrative centre between 1833 and 1982. A Coruña is located on a promontory in the Golfo Ártabro ,

2392-541: Is a street in present A Coruña called "Calle de la Sinagoga", or "synagogue street", which is believed to be the street where the synagogue once stood. During the Modern period , the city was a port and centre for the manufacturing of textiles. In 1520, king Carlos I of Spain , met in the courts of A Coruña and embarked from its harbour to be elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (as Charles V). He allowed

2496-612: Is another town named Coruña in Burgos Province . A more likely possibility is that the name simply means "The Crown", which in Galician is A Coroa and in Spanish is La Corona . It seems less likely that it traces back to the Galician clunia . The name is reputedly from the Greek Κορώνα (Crown), referring to the crown of Geryon that was buried by Hercules under the lighthouse he built to his honour. The hero Hercules slew

2600-456: Is in a constant decline, in favor of the official and historical form "A Coruña". A Coruña is located on a peninsula, and its isthmus was at times formed only by a small strip of sand. Erosion and sea currents caused a progressive accumulation of sand, enlarging it to its present dimensions. A Coruña has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csb ) in the Köppen climate classification . Autumn

2704-419: Is one example. Race Rocks Light in western Canada is painted in horizontal black and white bands to stand out against the horizon. For effectiveness, the lamp must be high enough to be seen before the danger is reached by a mariner. The minimum height is calculated by trigonometry (see Distance to the horizon ) as D = 1.22 H {\displaystyle D=1.22{\sqrt {H}}} , where H

2808-692: Is referred to as the beacon or front range; the further light is called the rear range. The rear range light is almost always taller than the front. When a vessel is on the correct course, the two lights align vertically, but when the observer is out of position, the difference in alignment indicates the direction of travel to correct the course. There are two types of lighthouses: ones that are located on land, and ones that are offshore. A Coru%C3%B1a A Coruña ( Galician pronunciation: [ɐ koˈɾuɲɐ] ; Spanish : La Coruña [la koˈɾuɲa] ; also informally called just Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne)

2912-510: Is the height above water in feet, and D is the distance from the lighthouse to the horizon in nautical miles, the lighthouse range . Where dangerous shoals are located far off a flat sandy beach, the prototypical tall masonry coastal lighthouse is constructed to assist the navigator making a landfall after an ocean crossing. Often these are cylindrical to reduce the effect of wind on a tall structure, such as Cape May Light . Smaller versions of this design are often used as harbor lights to mark

3016-556: Is the site of the Roman Tower of Hercules , a lighthouse which has been in continuous operation since possibly the 2nd century AD. It has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site . It is surrounded by a large public park with a golf course and the so-called Moor's Graveyard ( Cemiterio do Mouro in Galician, Cementerio del Moro in Spanish) a building where in fact there were never burials, Muslim or not, which now houses

3120-497: Is usually mild with spring-like temperatures, but winter is often unsettled and unpredictable, with strong winds and abundant rainfall coming from Atlantic depressions . The ocean keeps temperatures mild all year round (the variation between winter and summer temperatures is only 9 °C (16 °F) on average) and therefore frost and snow are extremely rare. In fact, the city has not received significant snowfall since January 1987. A Coruña lies in plant hardiness zone 10b. Spring

3224-521: Is usually warm and fairly calm, while summers are mostly sunny and humid, with occasional rainfall, usually in the form of drizzle ; high temperatures are warm but rarely uncomfortably hot because of the sea's cooling influence during the day, most often being around 22 °C (72 °F) between July and September. Even the warmest month on record was relatively subdued, being August 2003, with an average high temperature of 25 °C (77 °F). Temperatures above 25 °C (77 °F) occur many days in

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3328-478: The Casa das Palabras (Galician for House of Words) museum. The lighthouse features as the main emblem of the city's flag and coat of arms. The city is also well known for its characteristic glazed window balconies, called galerías . Originally, this type of structure came about as a naval architecture solution for the challenging weather, particularly designed for rainy days. This fashion started in nearby Ferrol in

3432-622: The Florida Reef along the Florida Keys, beginning with the Carysfort Reef Light in 1852. In waters too deep for a conventional structure, a lightship might be used instead of a lighthouse, such as the former lightship Columbia . Most of these have now been replaced by fixed light platforms (such as Ambrose Light ) similar to those used for offshore oil exploration . Aligning two fixed points on land provides

3536-600: The Low Countries and England, where it was defeated. In the following year, during the Anglo-Spanish War , the English Armada conducted a besieged A Coruña , but was eventually forced to withdraw. A local woman, María Pita , took her dead husband's spear during the siege and killed an enemy captain, rallying support to deny a breach in the wall to the attackers. In the 16th and 17th centuries,

3640-660: The Roman Empire , A Coruña still had a commercial port connected to foreign countries, but contacts with the Mediterranean were slowly replaced by a more Atlantic-oriented focus. The process of deurbanisation that followed the fall of the Roman Empire also affected A Coruña. Between the 7th and 8th centuries, the city was no more than a little village of labourers and sailors. The 11th-century Chronica iriense names Faro do Burgo (ancient name of A Coruña) as one of

3744-747: The Royal Galician Academy , the institution dedicated to the study of Galician culture and especially the Galician language, the Romanesque churches of Santiago and Saint Mary, As Bárbaras Monastery (Romanesque and Baroque ) and the headquarters of the Operational Logistics Force of the Spanish Army . In July, a Medieval Fair takes place in the streets of the Old City. The city has several museums, such as

3848-719: The Spanish Constitution of 1812 . He was supported by the bourgeoisie and the educated people. But on 22 August he was betrayed and hanged in the Campo da Leña two months later. A Coruña supported the liberal side in all the 19th-century rebellions. A Coruña also played an important role in the Rexurdimento , and there were founded the Galician Royal Academy in 1906 and the Brotherhoods of

3952-598: The Spanish colonies in Latin America succeeded in gaining independence from their former metropolis . The population of the City of A Coruña in 1900 reached 43,971, while the population of the rest of the province including the City and Naval Station of nearby Ferrol as well as Santiago de Compostela was 653,556. A Coruña's miraculous growth happened during the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War at

4056-406: The 15th century. In 1208, Alfonso IX re-founded the city of Crunia . Some privileges, such as those of disembarking and selling salt without paying taxes, were granted to the city, and it enjoyed a big growth in fishing and mercantile business. The city grew and extended through the isthmus. In 1446 John II of Castile granted to A Coruña the title of "City". The Catholic Monarchs established

4160-524: The 18th century when some of the technicians working for the Royal Dockyards had the idea of using the shape of the back of a warship in a modern building. Soon afterward, most seaports in northern Spain, were adding these glazed window balconies to their city-port houses. The Old Town ( Ciudad Vieja in Spanish, Cidade Vella in Galician) is the name given to the oldest part of A Coruña. During

4264-544: The 2011 Municipal Elections, the conservative candidate Carlos Negreira ( PP ) obtained a majority, the first one for the People's Party in the city since the arrival of democracy. The mayor of the 2015–2019 mandate was Xulio Ferreiro, from the Marea Atlántica ("Atlantic Tide") party, who was elected in 2015 on an anti-corruption mandate. His remit was to improve the town planning of the city rather than to leave it to

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4368-513: The 20th century. These often have a narrow cylindrical core surrounded by an open lattice work bracing, such as Finns Point Range Light . Sometimes a lighthouse needs to be constructed in the water itself. Wave-washed lighthouses are masonry structures constructed to withstand water impact, such as Eddystone Lighthouse in Britain and the St. George Reef Light of California. In shallower bays, Screw-pile lighthouse ironwork structures are screwed into

4472-579: The Castle of San Antón Archaeological Museum, Fine Arts Museum and the network of scientific museums ( Casa das Ciencias , which also includes a planetarium, DOMUS, made by Arata Isozaki and Aquarium Finisterrae ). In 2012, the National Museum of Science and Technology (MUNCYT) opened a branch in the city. A Coruña's social scene is most popular on Summer nights. Most bars and clubs are on Rua do Orzán, which runs directly parallel to Paseo Maritimo on

4576-571: The Cidade (City), is built on an ancient Celtic castro. It was supposedly inhabited by the Brigantes and Artabrians , the Celtic tribes of the area. The Romans came to the region in the 2nd century BCE; they made the most of the strategic position and soon the city became quite important in maritime trade. In 62 BCE Julius Caesar came to the city (known at the time as Brigantium) in pursuit of

4680-723: The European-funded Maritime Promenade and the city's Scientific Museums (Casa das Ciencias-Planetario-, Casa dos Peixes-Aquarium and Casa do Home-Domus). On 20 January 2006 Vázquez was named ambassador to the Vatican City , and was later replaced by Francisco Javier Losada de Azpiazu. In 2007 Municipal Elections the local government was a coalition of the Socialists' Party of Galicia and the left-wing nationalist Galician Nationalist Bloc party. The city celebrated its first millennium in 2008. In

4784-564: The Galician Language in 1916. Regarding the economy, in 1804 the National Cigarette Factory was founded, and there the workers' movement of the city had its origins. During the 19th century other businesses (glass, foundries, textiles, gas, matches, etc.) were slowly established, but it was maritime trade and migrant travel that attracted Catalan, Belgian, French and English investments. The Bank of A Coruña

4888-601: The Jews in 1492 , a thriving Jewish community created a rich artistic heritage in the city. The most lavishly illuminated Hebrew Bible in medieval Spain was created in A Coruña in 1476. Known as the Kennicott Bible , it is currently housed in the Bodleian Library, Oxford . The Jewish community is said to have dated to at least the 11th century, with fragments of Jewish tombstones dating to that time period. There

4992-586: The Latin word Colonya as its origin, where the L was transformed into R which occurs widely in Portuguese. A similar happening can be found today in Coronie , a Surinamese town which also made its course outside the Portuguese system. A folk etymology incorrectly derives Coruña from the ancient columna , or Tower of Hercules . In English, use of the Spanish or Galician forms now predominates. However,

5096-705: The Royal Audience of the Kingdom of Galicia in the city, instead of Santiago . A Coruña also became the headquarters of the Captaincy General . Later, in 1522, Charles V conceded to the city of A Coruña the license to establish the House of Spices , being this the port chosen by Jofre Garcia de Loysa to set his expedition to conquer the Moluccans . In the late Middle Ages, before the expulsion of

5200-466: The Swiss scientist Aimé Argand revolutionized lighthouse illumination with its steady smokeless flame. Early models used ground glass which was sometimes tinted around the wick. Later models used a mantle of thorium dioxide suspended over the flame, creating a bright, steady light. The Argand lamp used whale oil , colza , olive oil or other vegetable oil as fuel, supplied by a gravity feed from

5304-405: The United Kingdom and Ireland about a third of lighthouses had been converted from filament light sources to use LEDs, and conversion continued with about three per year. The light sources are designed to replicate the colour and character of the traditional light as closely as possible. The change is often not noticed by people in the region, but sometimes a proposed change leads to calls to preserve

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5408-495: The added advantage of allowing some of the energy of the waves to dissipate on impact with the walls. His lighthouse was the prototype for the modern lighthouse and influenced all subsequent engineers. One such influence was Robert Stevenson , himself a seminal figure in the development of lighthouse design and construction. His greatest achievement was the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse in 1810, one of

5512-433: The advent of much cheaper, more sophisticated, and more effective electronic navigational systems. Before the development of clearly defined ports , mariners were guided by fires built on hilltops. Since elevating the fire would improve visibility, placing the fire on a platform became a practice that led to the development of the lighthouse. In antiquity, the lighthouse functioned more as an entrance marker to ports than as

5616-414: The already established Castillian - Spanish social dominance and extending the equally deep-rooted prejudice against Galician language and cultural expression. Another downside's of Mr Vazquez legacy would be his town-planning policies, with big-money pharaoh-like projects with little social impact (shopping centres, Millennium obelisk, etc.). However, on a positive note Mr Vazquez's 23 year-long mandate saw

5720-506: The area over the centuries. After years of local petitions to Trinity House, the organisation agreed for a lighthouse to be built at Portland Bill. George I granted the patent in 1716. That year, it was announced that Trinity House had 'caus'd to be erected two round Light-Houses of Stone upon Portland, in the County of Dorset, distant about two Thirds of a Mile from the Bill of Portland'. This one

5824-491: The beam was too narrow to be seen easily. In any of these designs an observer, rather than seeing a continuous weak light, sees a brighter light during short time intervals. These instants of bright light are arranged to create a light characteristic or pattern specific to a lighthouse. For example, the Scheveningen Lighthouse flashes are alternately 2.5 and 7.5 seconds. Some lights have sectors of

5928-406: The choice of light sources, mountings, reflector design, the use of Fresnel lenses , and in rotation and shuttering systems providing lighthouses with individual signatures allowing them to be identified by seafarers. He also invented the movable jib and the balance-crane as a necessary part for lighthouse construction. Alexander Mitchell designed the first screw-pile lighthouse – his lighthouse

6032-495: The city, called at that time Faro or Faro Bregancio. In the year 991, King Vermudo II began the construction of defensive military positions on the coast. At Faro, in the ruins of the Tower of Hercules , a fortress was built, which had a permanent military garrison. To pay for it, he gave power over the city to the bishop of Santiago . The bishop of Santiago became the most important political post in Galicia , and remained so until

6136-533: The collapse of the Soviet government in 1990s, most of the official records on the locations, and condition, of these lighthouses were reportedly lost. Over time, the condition of RTGs in Russia degraded; many of them fell victim to vandalism and scrap metal thieves, who may not have been aware of the dangerous radioactive contents. Energy-efficient LED lights can be powered by solar panels , with batteries instead of

6240-488: The construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length , without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design. A Fresnel lens can be made much thinner than a comparable conventional lens, in some cases taking the form of a flat sheet. A Fresnel lens can also capture more oblique light from a light source, thus allowing the light from a lighthouse equipped with one to be visible over greater distances. The first Fresnel lens

6344-513: The dioceses that king Miro granted to the episcopate of Iria Flavia in the year 572: The Muslim invasion of the Iberian peninsula left no archaeological evidence in the northwest, so it cannot be said whether or not the Muslim invaders ever reached the city. As Muslim rule in early 8th century Galicia consisted little more than a short-lived overlordship of the remote and rugged region backed by

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6448-633: The elections, the republican parties obtained 34 of the 39 council seats. The best results were of the ORGA and of the Partido Radical Socialista, and the Radical Republican Party lost a lot of support. From 1983 to 2006, the mayor of the city was Francisco Vázquez Vázquez ( PSOE ), and the city became devoted to services, but he also was criticised because of his being openly against Galician nationalism , favouring

6552-473: The emitted light into a concentrated beam, thereby greatly increasing the light's visibility. The ability to focus the light led to the first revolving lighthouse beams, where the light would appear to the mariners as a series of intermittent flashes. It also became possible to transmit complex signals using the light flashes. French physicist and engineer Augustin-Jean Fresnel developed the multi-part Fresnel lens for use in lighthouses. His design allowed for

6656-475: The entrance into a harbor, such as New London Harbor Light . Where a tall cliff exists, a smaller structure may be placed on top such as at Horton Point Light . Sometimes, such a location can be too high, for example along the west coast of the United States, where frequent low clouds can obscure the light. In these cases, lighthouses are placed below the clifftop to ensure that they can still be seen at

6760-539: The establishment of Start Point Lighthouse with its revolving Fresnel lenses , Portland High was again made a fixed light (matching the Low Light, which had remained fixed throughout). Both Portland lighthouses were rebuilt in 1869, and provided with large (first-order) fixed optics designed and built by James Chance . At the turn of the 20th century, Trinity House made plans to build a new lighthouse at Bill Point to replace both current lighthouses. The new lighthouse

6864-703: The fourteenth century, the scarcely-surviving city walls of the Old Town were built, as well as three harbors: the Parrot and San Miguel. It also preserves the stronghold known as the Old Fortress, now converted into the Garden of San Carlos, in which Sir John Moore is buried. The Old City of A Coruña kept streets and squares that revive the city's history and noble mansions and residences such as Rosalia de Castro's house, located on Prince Street. Notable buildings are

6968-436: The giant tyrant Geryon after three days and three nights of continuous battle. Hercules then—in a Celtic gesture—buried the head of Geryon with his weapons and ordered that a city be built on the site. The lighthouse atop a skull and crossbones representing the buried head of Hercules' slain enemy appears in the coat-of-arms of the city of A Coruña, Loukeris (2019). A proxy evolution within the Portuguese language points out to

7072-643: The government of the Kingdom of Galicia to distribute spice in Europe between 1522 and 1529. Commerce with the Indies was allowed between 1529 and 1575. San Antón Castle was built to defend of the city and its harbour. From the port of Ferrol in the Province of A Coruña , Philip II left to marry Mary I of England in 1554, and much later, in 1588, from the same port the Spanish Armada would set sail to

7176-477: The higher lighthouse, which was the first in England to be fitted with them. It was fitted with fourteen lamps arranged in two rows of seven, with a polished spherical reflector set behind each lamp. The lamps were designed by Thomas Rogers. In 1824 Portland High Light was improved by Trinity House: a three-sided revolving apparatus was installed (with Argand lamps and reflectors), 'each face exhibiting its greatest light every two minutes'; however in 1835, following

7280-455: The lantern room where the light operates. The lantern room is the glassed-in housing at the top of a lighthouse tower containing the lamp and lens. Its glass storm panes are supported by metal muntins (glazing bars) running vertically or diagonally. At the top of the lantern room is a stormproof ventilator designed to remove the smoke of the lamps and the heat that builds in the glass enclosure. A lightning rod and grounding system connected to

7384-483: The light is concentrated, if needed, by the "lens" or "optic". Power sources for lighthouses in the 20th–21st centuries vary. Originally lit by open fires and later candles, the Argand hollow wick lamp and parabolic reflector were introduced in the late 18th century. Whale oil was also used with wicks as the source of light. Kerosene became popular in the 1870s and electricity and acetylene gas derived on-site from calcium carbide began replacing kerosene around

7488-509: The lighthouse at Ostia . Coins from Alexandria, Ostia, and Laodicea in Syria also exist. The modern era of lighthouses began at the turn of the 18th century, as the number of lighthouses being constructed increased significantly due to much higher levels of transatlantic commerce. Advances in structural engineering and new and efficient lighting equipment allowed for the creation of larger and more powerful lighthouses, including ones exposed to

7592-469: The lighthouse keepers. Efficiently concentrating the light from a large omnidirectional light source requires a very large diameter lens. This would require a very thick and heavy lens if a conventional lens were used. The Fresnel lens (pronounced / f r eɪ ˈ n ɛ l / ) focused 85% of a lamp's light versus the 20% focused with the parabolic reflectors of the time. Its design enabled construction of lenses of large size and short focal length without

7696-470: The luminosity of traditional oil lights. The use of gas as illuminant became widely available with the invention of the Dalén light by Swedish engineer Gustaf Dalén . He used Agamassan (Aga), a substrate , to absorb the gas, allowing the gas to be stored, and hence used, safely. Dalén also invented the ' sun valve ', which automatically regulated the light and turned it off during the daytime. The technology

7800-415: The mercy of corrupt, unregulated free-market policies which have left a negative legacy in many areas of the municipality. He has widespread support across the region in opposition to a project to sell off the city's port (a legacy of the preceding mayor Carlos Negreira) to a private equity firm, which wants to construct a gated community of high-rise apartment blocks for which there is no real market demand in

7904-421: The metal cupola roof provides a safe conduit for any lightning strikes. Immediately beneath the lantern room is usually a Watch Room or Service Room where fuel and other supplies were kept and where the keeper prepared the lanterns for the night and often stood watch. The clockworks (for rotating the lenses) were also located there. On a lighthouse tower, an open platform called the gallery is often located outside

8008-587: The metal trade, establishing commerce with what are now France, England and Portugal. The town began to grow, mainly during the 1st and 2nd centuries (when the Farum Brigantium Tower of Hercules was built), but declined after the 4th century and particularly with the incursions of the Vikings , which forced the population to flee towards the interior of the Estuary of O Burgo. After the fall of

8112-496: The most impressive feats of engineering of the age. This structure was based upon Smeaton's design, but with several improved features, such as the incorporation of rotating lights, alternating between red and white. Stevenson worked for the Northern Lighthouse Board for nearly fifty years during which time he designed and oversaw the construction and later improvement of numerous lighthouses. He innovated in

8216-550: The name derives from. It seems to be from Crunia , of unknown origin and meaning, documented for the first time at the time of Ferdinand II of León (reigned 1157–1188). As usual in Galician-Portuguese (as well as in Castilian Spanish), the cluster ni naturally evolved into the sound [ ɲ ] , written n , nn or nh in old Galician orthography, nn in Spanish (later abbreviated to ñ , like

8320-512: The ninth and tenth centuries, the inhabitants of what was then called Faro Island (peninsula where the Tower of Hercules stands) were leaving the area due to constant attacks by the Viking fleet and settled in the area of Betanzos. In 1208 King Alfonso IX refounded the city at the present site of the Old Town and put it under his personal control, free from allegiance to the clergy or feudal lords. In

8424-521: The original Latin cluster "nn"), and nh in Portuguese and alternative Galician spelling. " A " is the Galician-Portuguese article equivalent to English the ; compare Castilian Spanish la ("the"). One proposed etymology derives Crunia from Cluny , the town in France. During its height ( c.  950  – c.  1130 ) the Cluniac religious movement became very prominent in Europe. There

8528-465: The sea. The function of lighthouses was gradually changed from indicating ports to the providing of a visible warning against shipping hazards, such as rocks or reefs. The Eddystone Rocks were a major shipwreck hazard for mariners sailing through the English Channel . The first lighthouse built there was an octagonal wooden structure, anchored by 12 iron stanchions secured in the rock, and

8632-451: The seabed and a low wooden structure is placed above the open framework, such as Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse . As screw piles can be disrupted by ice, steel caisson lighthouses such as Orient Point Light are used in cold climates. Orient Long Beach Bar Light (Bug Light) is a blend of a screw pile light that was converted to a caisson light because of the threat of ice damage. Skeletal iron towers with screw-pile foundations were built on

8736-554: The siege of Atlanta, designed and built some of the most exotic lighthouses in the most difficult locations on the U.S. Great Lakes . French merchant navy officer Marius Michel Pasha built almost a hundred lighthouses along the coasts of the Ottoman Empire in a period of twenty years after the Crimean War (1853–1856). In a lighthouse, the source of light is called the "lamp" (whether electric or fuelled by oil) and

8840-428: The summer, while temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) are infrequent. A Coruña has five parishes, or parroquias : A Coruña, San Vicente de Elviña, Santa María de Oza, San Cristóbal das Viñas, and San Pedro de Visma. A Coruña spread from the peninsula, the site of the later Tower of Hercules , onto the mainland. The oldest part, known popularly in Galician as Cidade Vella (Old City), Cidade Alta (High City) or

8944-528: The surface during periods of fog or low clouds, as at Point Reyes Lighthouse . Another example is in San Diego , California : the Old Point Loma lighthouse was too high up and often obscured by fog, so it was replaced in 1891 with a lower lighthouse, New Point Loma lighthouse . As technology advanced, prefabricated skeletal iron or steel structures tended to be used for lighthouses constructed in

9048-599: The third and most famous Eddystone Lighthouse , but some builders are well known for their work in building multiple lighthouses. The Stevenson family ( Robert , Alan , David , Thomas , David Alan , and Charles ) made lighthouse building a three-generation profession in Scotland. Richard Henry Brunton designed and built 26 Japanese lighthouses in Meiji Era Japan, which became known as Brunton's "children". Blind Irishman Alexander Mitchell invented and built

9152-441: The three Royal Royal Dockyards together with Cartagena and Cádiz , almost became a "dead" town during the reign of Ferdinand VII . By 1833, the City and Naval Station of Ferrol saw its civilian population reduced to 13,000. During the administration of the marquess of Molina, Minister for Naval affairs in the mid-19th century new activities sprang up, but Ferrol never fully returned to its former glory. During those years, most of

9256-603: The traditional English form Corunna / k ə ˈ r ʌ n ə / is still often used in the UK, particularly in reference to the Battle of Corunna (1809) in the Peninsular War . Archaically, English-speakers knew the city as "The Groyne", probably from French La Corogne . In Spain, the official form of the name is now the Galician one: "A Coruña", though many Spaniards continue to use "La Coruña". Despite this, "La Coruña"

9360-486: The traditional light, including in some cases a rotating beam. A typical LED system designed to fit into the traditional 19th century Fresnel lens enclosure was developed by Trinity House and two other lighthouse authorities and costs about € 20,000, depending on configuration, according to a supplier; it has large fins to dissipate heat. Lifetime of the LED light source is 50,000 to 100,000 hours, compared to about 1,000 hours for

9464-480: The turn of the 20th century. Carbide was promoted by the Dalén light , which automatically lit the lamp at nightfall and extinguished it at dawn. In the second half of the 20th century, many remote lighthouses in Russia (then Soviet Union ) were powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). These had the advantage of providing power day or night and did not need refuelling or maintenance. However, after

9568-669: The wars of the Spanish monarchy caused a great increase in taxes and the start of conscription. In 1620, Philip III created the School of the Boys of the Sea. In 1682 the Tower of Hercules was restored by Antúnez. On 16 January 1809, A Coruña was the site of the Battle of Corunna during the Peninsular War , in which British troops fought against the French to cover the embarkation of British troops after their retreat. In this battle Sir John Moore

9672-535: The watch room (called the Main Gallery) or Lantern Room (Lantern Gallery). This was mainly used for cleaning the outside of the windows of the Lantern Room. Lighthouses near to each other that are similar in shape are often painted in a unique pattern so they can easily be recognized during daylight, a marking known as a daymark . The black and white barber pole spiral pattern of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

9776-643: The weight and volume of material in conventional lens designs. Fresnel lighthouse lenses are ranked by order , a measure of refracting power, with a first order lens being the largest, most powerful and expensive; and a sixth order lens being the smallest. The order is based on the focal length of the lens. A first order lens has the longest focal length, with the sixth being the shortest. Coastal lighthouses generally use first, second, or third order lenses, while harbor lights and beacons use fourth, fifth, or sixth order lenses. Some lighthouses, such as those at Cape Race , Newfoundland, and Makapuu Point , Hawaii, used

9880-437: Was a kerosene lamp or, earlier, an animal or vegetable oil Argand lamp, and the lenses rotated by a weight driven clockwork assembly wound by lighthouse keepers, sometimes as often as every two hours. The lens assembly sometimes floated in liquid mercury to reduce friction. In more modern lighthouses, electric lights and motor drives were used, generally powered by diesel electric generators. These also supplied electricity for

9984-599: Was built at Branscombe Hill, and the other, the Old Lower Lighthouse , on lower land. Designed as leading lights to guide ships between Portland Race and the Shambles sandbank , they shone out for the first time on 29 September 1716. Initially, both were fire lights. Although they had been privately built, Trinity House took over responsibility for the lights on finding them poorly maintained, in 1752. In 1788 Trinity House had Argand lamps installed within

10088-459: Was built by Henry Winstanley from 1696 to 1698. His lighthouse was the first tower in the world to have been fully exposed to the open sea. The civil engineer John Smeaton rebuilt the lighthouse from 1756 to 1759; his tower marked a major step forward in the design of lighthouses and remained in use until 1877. He modeled the shape of his lighthouse on that of an oak tree , using granite blocks. He rediscovered and used " hydraulic lime ",

10192-683: Was built on piles that were screwed into the sandy or muddy seabed. Construction of his design began in 1838 at the mouth of the Thames and was known as the Maplin Sands lighthouse, and first lit in 1841. Although its construction began later, the Wyre Light in Fleetwood, Lancashire, was the first to be lit (in 1840). Until 1782 the source of illumination had generally been wood pyres or burning coal. The Argand lamp , invented in 1782 by

10296-533: Was completed in 1905, and the original two lighthouses were then auctioned. In 1923 the lighthouse was purchased by the palaeobotanist , campaigner for eugenics , pioneer of birth control and Portland Museum founder Marie Stopes as a summer residence. During World War II, the Royal Observer Corps used the tower as a lookout. During the early 1960s the lighthouse was run as a restaurant. The lighthouse and its cottages were refurbished in 1981. With

10400-492: Was founded in 1857. The new provincial division of 1832 also influenced economic development. At the beginning of the 20th century, A Coruña had about 45,000 inhabitants. The Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War severely affected the economy through the 1930s to the mid-1950s. The 1960s and early 1970s saw a dramatic economic recovery, which was part of the wider Spanish Miracle . As elsewhere in Galicia, A Coruña attracted

10504-399: Was killed. Spanish resistance during the war in Galicia was led by Sinforiano López, and A Coruña was the only Galician city that achieved success against the French troops. French troops left Galicia at the end of May 1809. During the 19th century, the city was the centre of anti-monarchist sentiment. On 19 August 1815, Juan Díaz Porlier , pronounced against Fernando VII in defense of

10608-532: Was resumed. In the Spanish general elections, 1931 , all the political parties knew that the electoral results had important political consequences. The campaign of Unión Monárquica was very important in A Coruña and was supported by El Ideal Gallego . Republicans and socialists constituted a block, made up of ORGA, independent republicans, Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the Radical Socialist Republican Party . In

10712-506: Was the predominant light source in lighthouses from the 1900s to the 1960s, when electric lighting had become dominant. With the development of the steady illumination of the Argand lamp, the application of optical lenses to increase and focus the light intensity became a practical possibility. William Hutchinson developed the first practical optical system in 1777, known as a catoptric system. This rudimentary system effectively collimated

10816-598: Was used in 1823 in the Cordouan lighthouse at the mouth of the Gironde estuary ; its light could be seen from more than 20 miles (32 km) out. Fresnel's invention increased the luminosity of the lighthouse lamp by a factor of four and his system is still in common use. The introduction of electrification and automatic lamp changers began to make lighthouse keepers obsolete. For many years, lighthouses still had keepers, partly because lighthouse keepers could serve as

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