It costs to get into Tawas Point State Park. All cars
are checked constantly by a ranger on a bicycle. Tickets are issued
to those without a paid permit. Someone is constantly checking cars
for their permit tag.
|
|
|
|
|
Tawas Point Light is located in the Tawas Point State Park off Tawas Bay at Lake Huron in Baldwin Township in Northern Michigan. The original light was a 5th Order Fresnel lens, later upgraded when the building was replaced. Moreover, the structure was failing, and a ship disaster in the 1870s led to the decision to construct a new lighthouse in 1875. In 1876, construction was completed, with a final cost of $30,000. It was originally known as Ottawa Point. The name was officially changed to Tawas Point in 1902. |
|
|
The tower is 70 feet tall including the base, with a diameter at base of 16 feet and a diameter at parapet of 9 feet 6 inches. It is constructed of a brick outer wall, and an inner wall: 24 inches, 8 inches thick, respectively. There is an air space between walls of 24 inches. The tower has in place a Fourth Order Fresnel lens. The light can be seen for 16 miles, and has a lens focal plane 70 feet above Lake Huron’s average water level. The Fresnel lens is still operative, being one of only 70 such lenses that remain operational in the United States, sixteen of which are used on the Great Lakes and eight of those sixteen are in Michigan. |
|
|
|
Below: A cute little electric
vehicle at Tawas Point Lighthouse |
|
|
|
|
|