|
| Home | Currently | Tadpole | Pictures | Stuff |
| Page Path: Home / Pictures / Specialized / LightHouses / West / WA_CapeDisappointment / default.aspx |
| This Page is a PRE Phase 9 Page, so the formatting might not be on par with the newer pages in the site. |
| Cape Disappointment | |
| << BACK | |
|
When Captain Vancouver, a Britton, was exploring the Pacific
Northwest, in 1788, he thought he had found a river heading inland,
so he explored the coast for a bit. He didn't realize that the
bay he was sailing in was actually the mouth of the Columbia, so he
named the cape on the north side "Cape Disappointment", and
continued on to discover the Puget Sound. Several years later, Captain Gray, an American, explored the bay a bit more carefully, and discovered the mightiest river on the west coast... and promptly named it for his Ship, the Columbia. As early as 1812, the cape was marked with a large white flag, and a bon fire at night. |
 |
 |
In 1850, three spruce trees were painted white to provide a bearing
point for ships heading to run the bar. In 1852, once the region had been settled (Oregon City was settled in 1840-somthing), it was decided that a lighthouse was required to help guide ships through "The graveyard of the Pacific", and into the mouth of the Columbia. More than 2,000 ships have been lost over the years at the mouth of the Columbia. (Right: Late 1800's sketch of the lighthouse) |
|
Lewis and Clark camped on the Cape for the winter, before heading
home - it rained EVERY DAY for 186 days, prompting Lewis to write,
"This place is aptly named." There's a replica fort near where
they camped, built from the plans that Lewis made. The picture below was taken in about 1850, used to locate various landmarks, and it makes note of the location of the campsite. It was used for placement of the light station. During the Civil War, Fort Canby was established on the Cape, sharing ground with the light station, to provide protection from a British incursion into the River. |
 |
 |
|
|
Fort Canby is now a State Park, and a Coast Guard Station. A short trail from the Lewis and Clark Interpretive center leads out to the light. About half-way to the light, you come to a hidden cove which is quite picturesque. During stormy weather, its nice to sit up on the trail, and watch the waves pound into the cove... The walk is fairly easy, but it is a lot of up and down hill. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
It eventually joins up with an access road running from the Coast
Guard Station to the Light Station. When we went, a deer basically paid us no mind, chewing nonchalantly on the leaves of some trees growing in the brush along the trail. At the top of the hill... you are treated with an excellent view of the lighthouse... especially near sunset! |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
The view the Cape commands is awesome! You can see quite a
ways down the Oregon Coast, and north towards North Head (Which was
established because the view of Cape Disappointment's light is
obscured when coming from the North). One interesting view is of the cliffs in front of the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. The cliffs sport thousands of pelican nests... it was striking to see all those birds clinging to the bare rock. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
The light is active, and alternates between red and white, using
colored lenses on its 4th order Lens. It originally had a
first order lens, which is on display at the Interpretive center.
I'm not sure why it was changed... Painted with black and white rings, it truly is a striking lighthouse. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|