Location | Next to Vancouver Island British Columbia Canada |
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Coordinates | 48°17′52.9″N 123°31′53.1″W / 48.298028°N 123.531417°W |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1859–1860 |
Construction | stone tower |
Automated | 1997 |
Height | 24.4 metres (80 ft) |
Shape | cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
Markings | tower with black and white bands, red lantern |
Operator | Race Rocks Marine Protected Area[1] |
Heritage | recognized federal heritage building of Canada |
Fog signal | (3) 60 s |
Light | |
First lit | 26 December 1860 |
Focal height | 36 metres (118 ft) |
Range | 19 nmi (35 km; 22 mi) |
Characteristic | Fl W 10 s |
Race Rocks Light is one of the first two lighthouses that were built on the west coast of Canada, financed by the British Government and illuminated in 1860. It is the only lighthouse on that coast built of rock, (granite) purportedly quarried in Scotland, and topped with sandstone quarried on Gabriola Island. The Islands of Race Rocks are located just off the southern tip of Vancouver Island, about 16 km (10 mi) southwest of Victoria, British Columbia.