Lighthouses of the United States: Arizona

The U.S. state of Arizona is landlocked and mostly desert; navigation is limited to the lakes created by a series of dams on the Colorado River, including the section that forms the border between Arizona and California. One of these lakes is Lake Havasu, where the diligent members of the Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club have been building a series of lighthouses. These lights are reduced-size replicas inspired by famous lighthouses of the U.S. and Canada. The lights are legitimate aids to navigation, with designs approved by the Coast Guard and locations approved by the state as part of a master plan for lighting the waterways of the lake. Eventually there will be more than 20 lighthouses, including several on the California side of the lake.

Lake Havasu is the reservoir pooled behind Parker Dam, completed in 1938. The lake, a major water source for both Arizona and southern California, is about 30 miles (50 km) long. Lake Havasu City, founded in 1964, is built on the east (Arizona) side of the lake. A canal called the Bridgewater Channel was cut through the peninsula of Pittsburgh Point to create Havasu Island, and in 1968 the developer, Robert McCulloch, bought London Bridge and had it shipped to America and reassembled to cross the channel. The current population of the city is a little less than 60,000.

General Sources
Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club
The club's web site has photos and maps documenting the lighthouse construction project.
Lighthouses in Lake Havasu City
A collection of photos posted by the city.
Lake Havasu Map
Posted by lake Havasu Phone Book, Inc.

East Quoddy Head Replica
East Quoddy Head Replica, February 2010
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Dorian Wallender


Lower Lake Havasu Lighthouses
*Havasu Springs Marina (Sandy Hook Replica)
2007. Active; amber flash every 1 s. Approx. 20 ft (6 m) octagonal tower with lantern and gallery, painted white; lantern painted red. A fuzzy photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. This lighthouse is a replica of the oldet surviving U.S. lighthouse, which marks the New York harbor entrance at Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The replica is on the east side of the entrance to the Havasu Springs Marina, at the extreme southern end of Lake Havasu near the Parker Dam, about 35 km (22 mi) south of Lake Havasu City. Site open, tower closed.
* Larned Landing (Berwick Replica)
2008. Active; red flash every 1 s. Approx. 33 ft (10 m) square pyramidal tower with lantern and gallery, mounted on a square platform supported by four piles. Entire lighthouse painted red. Google has a satellite view. This lighthouse is a replica of the Southwest Reef Light, formerly located in the Gulf of Mexico but now relocated to a city park in Berwick, Louisiana. The replica is located at Larned Landing, a boat ramp on the east side of the southern end of the lake
Red Rock Point (Barnegat Replica)
2008. Active; red flash every 1 s. Approx. 33 ft (10 m) round tower with lantern and gallery. Upper half of the tower painted red, lower half and lantern painted white. Google has a satellite view. This is a replica of a historic lighthouse at Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey. Located at Red Rock Point, an island at the end of a rocky ridge that projects dangerously into the northeastern side of the lake about 15 mi (25 km) downstream from Lake Havasu
* Pilot Rock (Portland Head Replica)
2010. Active; red flash every 1 s. Approx. 5 m (17 ft) round tower with lantern, painted white. A view from the lake is available, and Google has a satellite view. This is a replica of one the most famous U.S. lighthouses, near Portland, Maine. Located atop a tall headland about 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Havasu Island. Site open, tower closed.

Bridgewater Channel East Side (Mainland) Lighthouses
* Fire Island Replica
2012. Active; red flash every 1 s. 21 ft (6.5 m) round stucco-covered tower with lantern and gallery, painted with black and white horizontal bands. The lighthouse is too new to appear in Google's satellite view. This lighthouse is a replica of the Fire Island Light in Long Island, New York. Located at Rotary Park, which faces Thompson Bay about 2 km (1.25 mi) southeast of London Bridge. Site open, tower closed.
* Currituck Replica
2004. Active; red flash every 1 s. 21 ft (6.5 m) round brick tower with lantern and gallery. The tower is built with unpainted brown concrete blocks to simulate the red brick original; lantern painted black. Bradley Gordon's photo is at right, the city has posted a photo, and Google has a satellite view. This lighthouse is a replica of the Currituck Beach Light at Corolla on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Located on the mainland on the east side of the south entrance to the Bridgewater Channel, opposite Buffalo Main replica. Site open, tower closed.

Havasu Island Lighthouses
* Buffalo Main Replica
2003. Active; green flash every 1 s. 25 ft (8 m) octagonal wood tower with lantern and gallery, painted buff to resemble the stone of the original; lantern painted black. The city has posted a photo, and Google has a satellite view. The original lighthouse is located on the waterfront at Buffalo, New York. Located on the west (island) side of the south entrance to the Bridgewater Channel about 1/2 mile (800 m) south of London Bridge. Site open, tower closed.
* Lake Havasu Marina
2001(?). Active; amber flash every 1 s. 17 ft (5 m) round concrete block tower with lantern and gallery, painted white with two narrow red horizontal bands; the lantern roof is also red. The city has posted a closeup, a 2009 photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. This lighthouse is not a replica of a historic light, but it is the inspiration for all the other lights. Located at the end of the breakwater on the south side of the marina entrance on Havasu Island off the Bridgewater Channel about 0.6 mi (1 km) south of London Bridge. Site open, tower closed.
* Algoma Pierhead Replica
2009. Active; red flash every 1 s. Approx. 20 ft (6 m) round tower with lantern, painted red. Google has a satellite view. The original lighthouse is on Lake Michigan in Algoma, Wisconsin. Located at Spectator Point, the southeastern tip of Havasu Island. Site open, tower closed.
Currituck Replica Light
Currituck Replica, February 2010
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Bradley Gordon
* White Shoal Replica
2008. Active; red flash every 1 s. Approx. 20 ft (6 m) round tower with lantern and gallery. Tower painted in a red and white spiral pattern; lantern and base painted red. Lance Matzdorff has a 2009 photo, and Google has a satellite view. The original lighthouse is built on a shoal in northern Lake Michigan. Located on the south side of the island, next to the 15th green of the Havasu Island Golf Club. Site open (to golf club members at least), tower closed.
* Wind Point Replica
2010. Active; amber flash every 1 s. Approx. 20 ft (6 m) round tower with lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted white with black trim. Google has a satellite view. The original lighthouse is located on Lake Michigan in near Racine, Wisconsin. Located on a headland at the southwestern tip of Havasu Island. Site open, tower closed.
* Alpena Replica
2006. Active; red flash every 1 s. 18 ft (5.5 m) square skeletal tower with lantern and gallery. Entire lighthouse painted red. Jake McCarthy has a good 2008 closeup, and Google has a satellite view. This light is a replica of an unusual lighthouse on Lake Huron at Alpena, Michigan. Located at the western tip of Havasu Island. Site open, tower closed.
* Split Rock Replica
2004. Active; red flash every 1 s. 21 ft (6.5 m) octagonal stucco tower with lantern and gallery, painted buff with white trim to resemble the stone of the original; lantern painted black. Dorian Wallender's photo is at right, Daniel Park has a closeup photo, the city also has posted a photo, and Google has a satellite view. This lighthouse replaced a state-maintained post light, which remains. The original Split Rock Light is on the northwestern shore of Lake Superior near Beaver Bay, Minnesota. Located at the northwest corner of Havasu Island about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) northwest of London Bridge. Site open, tower closed.
* Vermilion Replica
2005. Active; red flash every 1 s. 16 ft (5 m) octagonal stucco tower with lantern and gallery, painted white with a red band at the base; lantern painted black. The city has posted a 2009 photo, but the light is not seen in Google's satellite view. This is a replica of the lighthouse on Lake Erie at Vermilion, Ohio. Located on Pittsburgh Point on the northwest coast of Havasu Island about 1.2 miles (2 km) northwest of London Bridge. Site open, tower closed.
* Robert R. Manning Replica
2003. Active; amber flash every 1 s. 20 ft (6 m) round cylindrical stucco-clad frame tower with lantern and gallery, painted white; lantern is green. The city has posted a photo, and Google has a satellite view. The original Manning Light is on Lake Michigan at Empire, Michigan. Located at the entrance to the Crazyhorse Campground Marina off McCulloch Boulevard about 0.5 mile (800 m) southeast of AZ 95 in Lake Havasu City. Site open, tower closed.
* West Quoddy Head Replica
2002. Active; green flash every 1 s. 18 ft (5.5 m) round tower with lantern and gallery, painted with narrow red and white horizontal bands. The city has posted a closeup, and Google has a satellite view. This light was sponsored by the Lake Havasu Yacht Club; the club's clubhouse also includes a faux lighthouse. The original West Quoddy Head Light is the easternmost lighthouse of the U.S., near Lubec, Maine. Located at the north end of the Bridgewater Channel about 1/2 mile (800 m) northwest of London Bridge. Site open, tower closed.

Split Rock Replica, January 2010
Flickr Creative Commons photo by Dorian Wallender
* East Quoddy Head Replica
2006. Active; red flash every 1 s. 18 ft (5.5 m) octagonal tower with lantern and gallery, painted white with a red cross; lantern painted red. Dorian Wallender's photo appears at the top of this page, the city has posted a photo, Mike Jones has a 2008 closeup, and Google has a satellite view. The original East Quoddy Head Light (officially called the Head Harbour Light) is on Campobello Island, New Brunswick. Located on the mainland, at the end of the breakwater on the east side of the northern entrance to the Bridgewater Channel, near Lake Havasu State Park's Beach #4, about 1/2 mile (800 m) north of London Bridge. Site open, tower closed.

Upper Lake Havasu Lighthouse
* Cape Hatteras Replica
2002. Active; amber flash every 1 s. 45 ft (14 m) round strongly conical tower (much more strongly tapered than the original) with lantern and gallery, painted with the distinctive black and white spiral pattern of the original. The city has posted a photo, and Google has a satellite view. The color of this light was changed from white to amber to provide better visibility to boats on the lake; the white light was hard to see against the developed shoreline. The original Cape Hatteras Light is the tallest lighthouse in the U.S., located near Buxton, North Carolina. Located at the personal watercraft ramp of Lake Havasu State Park about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) northwest of London Bridge in Lake Havasu City. Site open, tower closed.

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Posted August 7, 2007. Checked and revised January 4, 2013. Lighthouses: 17. Site copyright 2013 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.