Fowey Rocks Lighthouse is silhouetted against the rising sun with fleecy clouds above and calm seas.
The HMS Fowey was a fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy which launched out of Hull, England in 1744. Four years later this heavily armed man of war ship struck a reef off the coast of Florida in the area of Biscayne National Park. Although the fate of the ship was well known, the remains were not positively identified for another two hundred and twenty seven years when George Fisher of the National Park Service identified her in 1975. The historic shipwreck is today considered an archeological site and part of the US heritage to be preserved. The 125 ft lighthouse at Fowey Rocks was first lighted on June 15, 1878 replacing the Cape Florida lighthouse. Two years earlier the builders displayed Fowey’s first order Fresnel lens and upper tower portion at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. Soldier Key located only four miles to the west served as the site for constructing the cast iron pile structure, a structure which so many years later survived Hurricane Andrew with little damage. Fowey Rocks was the last of the Florida Reef lights to be automated. In 1972 the Coast Guard had it outfitted with a rotating beacon which flashes white every ten seconds with two red sectors. The tower framework is painted red and includes a dwelling and enclosed circular stair to the lantern. Location: 7miles southeast of Cape Florida on Key Biscayne Coordinates: 25 35 80 05 48W
Size: 2864px × 4328px
Location: Fowey Reef, 7 miles SE of Cape Florida, Atlantic Ocean
Photo credit: © Judy Lovell-Janthina Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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