Cape Disappointment Light
From lighthouses
Ilwaco, Washington
Built: 1856
Automated: 1962
Located on a headland on the north side of the Columbia River where it empties into the Pacific Ocean, this 53 foot tall conical, dressed stone tower and attached oil house has a focal plane of 220 feet above sea level. It originally housed a first-order Fresnel lens. That lens was moved to the newly established North Head Light in 1898, and Cape Disappointment received a fourth-order lens and became a harbor light. This light is 1 of 3 to survive among 8 original lighthouses constructed on the west coast which is still active today. Cape Disappointment (the headland) was named by fur trader John Meares, who mistook it for another landfall and, realizing his error, sailed away in disappointment.
Navigational Options
- Return to Forty-second Lighthouse Expedition
- Go to Alphabetical Listing
- Go to Geographical Listing
- Return to Lighthouse Home Page
Lighthouses: A Photographic Journey
- Conceived and Developed by David S. Carter
- Photographs by Donald W. Carter
- Text by Diana K. Carter, Donald W. Carter & David S. Carter
Copyright © 1995-2011 David S. Carter, Donald W. Carter, & Diana K. Carter. All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means, physical or electronic, in part or in full, without the express permission of the authors, is strictly prohibited.
This article was last modified on 5/28/2009.
