The Gibraltar North Mole Elbow Lighthouse is one of several lighthouses in Gibraltar, a

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 ...

at the south end of the peninsula of

Iberia 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 ...

. Also known as the Gibraltar "E" Head Lighthouse, its tower is painted grey. The active

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 ...

is west 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 ...

and positioned at the elbow of the North Mole at

Gibraltar Harbour The Port of Gibraltar, also known as Gibraltar Harbour, is a seaport in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was a strategically important location during the Napoleonic Wars and after 1869 served as a supply point for ships travelling ...

. The lighthouse is operated by the Gibraltar Port Authority.

History

Gibraltar Harbour ''(shown on map)'', also referred to as the Port of Gibraltar, is on the west side 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 ...

, at latitude 36°09'N and longitude 05°20'W. In addition to the protection provided by the Rock, the harbour now has a system of man-made defences. These include three

breakwaters A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Part of a coastal management system, breakwaters are installed to minimize erosion, and to protect anchorages, h ...

: the North Mole (formerly the Commercial Mole) with its Western Arm, the Detached Mole (in the middle), and the South Mole. The mole was defended by the North Mole Elbow Battery, which operated until as late as the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with another gun mounted at the end of the mole. In May 2011, the North Mole was the site of an explosion of an oil storage tank. The South Mole has an extension, and was formerly known as the New Mole and New Mole Extension (to distinguish it from the Old Mole at the northeastern corner of the harbour). Gibraltar Harbour has north and south entrances. The northern entry is between the Western Arm of the North Mole and the Detached Mole. The southern is bordered by the Detached Mole and the South Mole.

Description

The Gibraltar North Mole Elbow Lighthouse ''(shown on map and pictured in links below)'' is located at the elbow of the L-shaped North Mole of Gibraltar Harbour. It is positioned at the "E" head of the North Mole, from which the lighthouse derives its alternate name. The lighthouse and harbour are west of the Rock of Gibraltar, and north of the east end of 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 ...

, which serves as access to the

Mediterranean 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 e ...

. The Gibraltar North Mole Elbow Lighthouse is a grey, square, skeletal tower, with a height of 25 metres (82 feet). The skeletal tower has a round harbour control room, watch room, and gallery platform. The light is emitted from a skeletal extension of the main tower which has been installed adjacent to the control room. The lighthouse is operational and is utilised as an

aid to navigation In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

, in and near the port. The

light characteristic 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 ...

is a fixed red light, with a range of five

nautical miles A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today t ...

. The active lighthouse has a focal plane of 28 metres (92 feet). The lighthouse tower is closed to the public. Opinions differ as to whether the site is open to the public. The lighthouse is operated by the Gibraltar Port Authority. 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 List of Lights and Fog Signals'' number for the Gibraltar North Mole Elbow Lighthouse is D 2449.2. 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), formerly the

National Imagery and Mapping 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 ...

, number is 4240.

References

External links

Photograph of Gibraltar North Mole Elbow Lighthouse (Trabas)

Photograph of Gibraltar North Mole Elbow Lighthouse (Werning)

Satellite View of Gibraltar North Mole Elbow Lighthouse
{{Authority control Lighthouses in Gibraltar

History

Description

See also

References

External links