The Evangelistas Lighthouse () is one of the most exposed, isolated and least accessible in the world. Sited on the

Evangelistas Islets __NOTOC__ The Evangelistas Islets (Spanish: ''Islotes Evangelistas'') comprise a group of four small, rocky islands lying on the Chilean continental shelf, some 30 km north-west of the western entrance to the Strait of Magellan, in the south ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

in the south-eastern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, it is the landfall light for ships crossing the Pacific eastwards to traverse the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...

. A notable engineering accomplishment of its time, it was built by Scottish engineer

George Henry Slight George Henry Slight (30 September 1859 – 26 June 1934) was a Scottish engineer who established the Chilean lighthouse service. Early years Slight, the son of George Slight and Elizabeth Marshall, grew up in Edinburgh in an engineering family ...

who had been recruited by Chilean President

Jorge Montt Jorge Montt Álvarez (; April 26, 1845 – October 8, 1922) was a vice admiral in the Chilean Navy and president of Chile from 1891 to 1896.L.S. Rowe, "Passing of a Great Figure in Chilean History." ''Bulletin Pan American Union'' 55 (1922): ...

, through the Chilean ambassador in London Agustin Ross, in order to establish a lighthouse service in Chile. Work on the lighthouse commenced on 30 April 1895. Slight's diary records his impressions of the Evangelistas on his arrival there:

I never imagined seeing something so wild and desolate as those emerging dark rocks in the middle of the raging waves. To see these stormy craggy rocks was frightening. With a dim light on the horizon we could see large waves crashing heavily in the western part of the islands: a vision that hardly anyone can imagine...

Slight had problems with bad weather, the supply of materials and equipment, unrest and lack of discipline among his workers, disease and living conditions. Most of the 80 workers were

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

and Chilotes, ten of whom were dismissed for insubordination. By 18 September 1896 the lighthouse had been sufficiently completed for Jorge Montt to visit for a ceremonial turning-on of the light. The lighthouse complex includes a weather station and a telecommunications station. It was restored in 1995–96 with the fiberglass lantern then in use replaced with a replica of the original lantern. The site and tower are not open to the public. The importance of the lighthouse at the beginning of the 20th century was remarked upon by the

United States Hydrographic Office The United States Hydrographic Office prepared and published maps, charts, and nautical books required in navigation. The office was established by an act of 21 June 1866 as part of the Bureau of Navigation, Department of the Navy. It was transfe ...

When approaching Magellan Strait it is of the utmost importance that Los Evangelistas be sighted. These islands are a good landfall both by day and by night, as they are 170 feet high, and the light is visible 20 miles. :South America Pilot
(1916)

References

Lighthouses completed in 1896 Lighthouses in Chile 1896 establishments in Chile Strait of Magellan {{lighthouse-stub

See also

References