# Lighthouse height **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141 "2026-03-02T15:48:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/1 "2026-03-02T15:48:25Z")
What determines/d the height of a lighthouse? ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/2 "2026-03-02T15:49:38Z")
Intended visual range? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/3 "2026-03-02T15:52:22Z")
The height is determined by how far from the shore the shallows extend. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/4 "2026-03-02T15:53:17Z")
How many stones are stacked up to make the lighthouse, and the relative height of each stone. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/5 "2026-03-02T15:55:50Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > What determines/d the height of a lighthouse? Curvature of the Earth, the desired distance that it be seen at, and the technology & resources available. The latter not being a trivial issue historically, that’s why the Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the [Classical Wonders of the World](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse_of_Alexandria). For most of history “how tall _can_ we build it?” was a significant restraint. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/6 "2026-03-02T16:12:22Z")
So the shallows extending east from North Carolina’s outer banks must go out rather far. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/7 "2026-03-02T16:23:11Z")
After some [googling](https://www.outerbanks.com/diamond-shoals.html): > The Diamond Shoals are a cluster of shifting, underwater sandbars that are located just off the coast of Cape Hatteras, but which extend for miles in varying directions, depending on the local currents. > Virtually hidden beneath the waves and always changing formation and depth, the Diamond Shoals are estimated to be responsible for up to 600 shipwrecks along the Hatteras Island and Outer Banks shorelines, earning the region the grisly nickname of the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” > Throughout the centuries, mariners always ran into several problems when travelling past Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks. Because the barrier islands off of North Carolina were both low-laying and sparsely inhabited, it was often difficult to see where the ocean waters ended and the shoreline began, especially at night when there were no local town lights to guide the way. Added to this difficulty was the Diamond Shoals, which would be just a few feet deep in some locales, and could easily ground a ship amidst a mix of churning waves and rushing currents. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/8 "2026-03-02T16:28:19Z")
Thanks for that. I just did a quick scan of Bodie Island Lighthouse and, man, that thing has had the crap kicked out of it over the years (I’m pretty sure it was moved inland sometime since the 1970s). So how about the craggy coast of, say, Maine? ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/9 "2026-03-02T18:49:39Z")
In my younger years, I went diving off of Hatteras fairly frequently. You can get on a dive boat, cruise out for over an hour, and then dive to 60’ to 70’ and the bottom looks like it does just 50’ from the beach. (Except you do get more sharks and rays.) It’s basically sand…and more sand. Oh, and shipwrecks. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/10 "2026-03-03T07:50:50Z")
The best predictor of the height of a lighthouse is the height of its parents. ---
**Author:** ![BostonBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bostonblue/32/21570_2.png) [@BostonBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BostonBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/11 "2026-03-03T08:09:15Z")
Some have been built too high, disappearing into mist and low cloud. A well known one was **Cape Point Lighthouse (South Africa):** Built high on a cliff in 1860, it was often shrouded in mist, leading to the wreck of the _SS Lusitania_ in 1911. A new lighthouse was completed in 1919 at a much lower elevation. (Edited- for spelling) ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/12 "2026-03-03T08:21:06Z")
> [@BostonBlue](#): > > leading to the wreck of the _SS Lusitania_ in 1911 Not to be confused with the better-known Lusitania that was sunk by German submarines in 1915. ---
**Author:** ![BostonBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bostonblue/32/21570_2.png) [@BostonBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BostonBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighthouse-height/1028141/13 "2026-03-03T08:25:20Z")
Correct, this one was a smaller Portuguese registered vessel and made less of a bang…😁