The Europa Point Lighthouse, also referred to as the Trinity Lighthouse at Europa Point and the Victoria Tower or La Farola in
Llanito
''Llanito'' or ''Yanito'' () is a form of Andalusian Spanish heavily laced with words from English and other languages, such as Ligurian; it is spoken in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is commonly marked by a great deal o ...
,
is a lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
at Europa Point
Europa Point (Spanish language, Spanish and Llanito: Punta de Europa or Punta Europa), is the southernmost point of Gibraltar (the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula being Punta de Tarifa 25 km southwest of Gibraltar). At the end of ...
, on the southeastern tip of the British Overseas Territory
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...
of Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
, on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
.
Europa Lighthouse was inaugurated on 1 August 1841 in a brief ceremony witnessed by about 10,000 people. The first upgrade of the lighthouse occurred in 1864, when the single-wick lamp was replaced with a Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands (formerly in Staffordshire), in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology.
The Chance fami ...
four-wick burner, with further changes in 1875 and in 1894 when the amount of light emitted was increased. A three incandescent mantle burner was added in 1905. Following further modernisation in the 20th century, the lighthouse was fully automated in 1994 and converted to
LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
operation in 2016.
Europa Point Lighthouse is operated by
Trinity House
"Three In One"
, formation =
, founding_location = Deptford, London, England
, status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity
, purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons
, he ...
. The cylindrical tower is painted white, with a wide red horizontal band in the middle. The lighthouse has a height of and is above the high-water mark.
History
Also known as the Trinity Lighthouse at Europa Point and the Victoria Tower,
the Europa Point Lighthouse, of classic British design, first underwent construction in 1838.
[ Sir ]Alexander George Woodford
Field Marshal Sir Alexander George Woodford, GCB, KCMG (15 June 1782 – 26 August 1870), was a British Army officer. After taking part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, he served in most of the battles of the Napoleonic Wars. During t ...
(1782–1870), Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar, set the first stone for the lighthouse's foundation on 26 April 1838, with the aid of the Masonic Order of Gibraltar. The inscription read:[
A brief ceremony commemorated the event, which was witnessed by about 10,000 people.] Construction of the lighthouse was completed in 1841, and was inaugurated according to schedule on 1 August that year. The first lighting of the Europa Point Lighthouse drew an audience of more than 2,000 people.[
To navigate the ]Bay of Gibraltar
The Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeciras), is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait ...
prior to the opening of the lighthouse sailors were dependent on the light emitted by the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe
The Shrine of Our Lady of Europe is a Roman Catholic parish church and national shrine of Gibraltar located at Europa Point. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of Europe, the Catholic patroness of Gibraltar.
It belongs to the European Maria ...
, Roman Catholic shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...
, which was originally a mosque built after the victory of King Ferdinand IV of Spain over the Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
at the 1309 siege. They expressed their gratitude by leaving supplies of oil at the chapel, which also encouraged the continued burning of the lights.[
]
At the time of the opening of the lighthouse in 1841, a fixed light was emitted by an oil lamp with one wick. The intensity of the light was increased by a large (first-order) optic by Cookson & Co., combining a main dioptric
Dioptrics is the branch of optics dealing with refraction, similarly the branch dealing with mirrors is known as catoptrics. Dioptrics is the study of the refraction of light, especially by lenses. Telescopes that create their image with an objec ...
fixed lens with upper and lower tiers of catoptric
Catoptrics (from grc-gre, κατοπτρικός ''katoptrikós'', "specular", from grc-gre, κάτοπτρον ''katoptron'' "mirror") deals with the phenomena of reflected light and image-forming optical systems using mirrors. A catoptric s ...
mirrors.[ On 25 April 1843, lighting was upgraded to improve visibility from Sandy Bay, and in 1854, the lighthouse had a reported visibility of .]
Repairs and alterations were made to the lighthouse in 1863-64 by engineer Henry Norris, when the single-wick lamp was replaced with a Chance Brothers
Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands (formerly in Staffordshire), in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology.
The Chance fami ...
four-wick burner, and a new, much-improved optic was provided (a first-order fixed catadioptric, also by Chance Brothers). The improvements included provision of a red arc of light over the hazardous Pearl Rock region:[ in order to maintain the intensity of the red light out as far as Pearl Rock (which was 6 miles away), 9-foot high vertical reflecting prisms were used to redirect light from the landward side (where it would otherwise be wasted) back through the red sector.] An additional upgrade was made in 1875 when the lamp was switched out for a four-wick mineral oil burner.[
In 1894, the lighthouse was further altered to increase the amount of light emitted. The four-wick burner was exchanged for a Douglass burner with eight wicks and the lantern was improved; the power of the light was thereby increased to 35,000 ]candela
The candela ( or ; symbol: cd) is the unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units (SI). It measures luminous power per unit solid angle emitted by a light source in a particular direction. Luminous intensity is analogous to ...
. The characteristic of the light changed from fixed to occulting
An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden from the observer by another object that passes between them. The term is often used in astronomy, but can also refer to any situation in which an object in the foreground blocks ...
. An explosive fog signal
A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...
was also introduced, with two quick blasts every five minutes.[ The eight-wick burner was exchanged for a three incandescent mantle burner in 1905.][ In 1923, the burner was replaced by a Hood petroleum vapour burner with one mantle.][
Later, between 1954 and 1956, further extensive changes were made and the introduction of electric lighting further improved visibility.][ As part of the upgrade, a much more powerful, revolving lens system was introduced for the primary optic: a Stone-Chance 2nd Order ]Catadioptric
A catadioptric optical system is one where refraction and reflection are combined in an optical system, usually via lenses (dioptrics) and curved mirrors ( catoptrics). Catadioptric combinations are used in focusing systems such as searchlights, ...
optic. By a complex arrangement of lenses and shades, the optic displayed an isophase white light (5 seconds on, 5 seconds off) when seen from most directions, but was seen as a red occulting light
A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists with the cha ...
(on for 5.8 seconds, off for 4.2 seconds) within the red sector, covering the Pearl Rock. In addition, at this time, a separate red sector light
A sector light is a man-made pilotage and position fixing aid that consists of strictly delineated horizontal angle light beams to guide water-borne traffic through a safe channel at night in reasonable visibility. Sector lights are most often ...
was added, which projected a fixed red beam across the same sector from a room below the main light. To accommodate the new equipment, the height of the tower was increased by .[ Also, as part of this upgrade, a set of SuperTyfon ]foghorn
A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...
s was installed, mounted on their own engine-house, alongside the tower; they sounded one blast every 20 seconds.
The lighthouse was fully automated in February 1994.[ The extant optics were kept, but complemented with a three-position lampchanger. The foghorn was changed to an electric model, with a directional 500 Hz emitter stack that was installed on the gallery of the lantern room.][
In 2016, as part of a comprehensive upgrade to the light and its electric systems, the revolving optic was removed (along with the red arc, with its vertical prisms, and the subsidiary sector light). It was replaced with a pair of all-round white single-tier LED lanterns displaying an isophase characteristic (one providing the main light, the other serving as a standby). At the same time the fog signal was discontinued. The decommissioned 1950s optic was then presented to the newly established ]University of Gibraltar
The University of Gibraltar is a degree-awarding higher education institution established by the Government of Gibraltar through the University of Gibraltar Act 2015. The founding of the university was described by Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fab ...
, where it has been placed on display.
Description
The lighthouse, which remains active, is strategically located at the southeastern tip of the Rock of Gibraltar
The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...
at Europa Point, between the Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and Mediterranean, rising to above the high-water mark. The Mediterranean is to the east, the Bay of Gibraltar
The Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeciras), is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait ...
to the northwest, and the Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...
to the southwest.[
The lighthouse has a masonry tower with lantern and gallery; the tower is painted white, with a single wide red horizontal band in the middle.][ It is locally known as "''La Farola''" (literally 'lamppost' in Spanish) in ]Llanito
''Llanito'' or ''Yanito'' () is a form of Andalusian Spanish heavily laced with words from English and other languages, such as Ligurian; it is spoken in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is commonly marked by a great deal o ...
, Gibraltar's spoken vernacular.
Administration
The lighthouse is the only such building outside of the British Isles which is operated by Trinity House, a lighthouse agency based in England.[ Accordingly, it is also referred to as the Trinity Lighthouse. Trinity House was made responsible for building and operating the Europa Point Lighthouse by the Gibraltar Lighthouse, etc. Act 1838. In addition, section 634 of the ]Merchant Shipping Act 1894
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
resulted in Trinity House becoming the general lighthouse authority
A general lighthouse authority (GLA) is one of three agencies primarily responsible for aids to navigation in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. They are divided into regions as follows:
*Trinity House: England & Wales, Channel Island ...
for Gibraltar.[ The site of the lighthouse is managed by the ]Government of Gibraltar
His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four ...
, and monitoring of the lighthouse is through a reporting station connected by telephone to the Gibraltar Port Office.[ The ]United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is the UK's agency for providing hydrographic and marine geospatial data to mariners and maritime organisations across the world. The UKHO is a trading fund of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and is ...
Admiralty Digital Lists of Lights (ADLL) number for the Europa Point Lighthouse is D2438. The United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of national ...
(NGA) number is 4220.[
Soon after World War II, ]amateur radio
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...
, also called ham radio
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...
, made its appearance in Gibraltar. The Gibraltar Amateur Radio Society, with its headquarters on Coaling Island
Coaling Island is an area of reclaimed land in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located at the centre of the western end of Gibraltar Harbour as one of its industrial zones. It also serves to harbour Cormorant Camber which ber ...
, operates from the lighthouse once annually, during the third weekend of August. The annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend has as its goal in Gibraltar of putting the Europa Point Lighthouse on the air, using the call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
, ZB2LGT. The Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society
Founded in 2000 by Jim Weidner, K2JXW, the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (ARLHS) is devoted to maritime communications, amateur radio, lighthouses, and lightships. Its members travel to lighthouses around the world where they operate amate ...
(ARLHS) number for the lighthouse is GIB-001.[
]
See also
* Lighthouses in Gibraltar
References
; Notes
;Citations
External links
*
Europa Point Lighthouse
at Trinityhouse.co.uk
1993 lighthouse tour
{{Authority control
Lighthouses completed in 1841
Strait of Gibraltar
Lighthouses in Gibraltar
Articles containing video clips