Point Sur Lighthouse Station. Big Sur Coast, California. July 24, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
The historic lighthouse station atop Point Sur along the California Big Sur coastline
Point Sur, with its historic lighthouse station, is an iconic feature of the northern section of the Big Sur coastline along the Pacific Coast Highway in California. The distinctive “hill” (which I now know is known as a “morro”) is visible from far up the coast as you approach from the north, and once you get closer the tall, rounded hill at the far end of a sandy peninsula has a nearly unique appearance. (Not literally unique, as there are others, such as the eponymous Morro Rock further south at Morro Bay.)
Today the morro itself, with its lighthouse station structures, plus an old naval facility nearby, are part of the state park system. The surrounding land is still in private hands, but Californians and others can hope that it, too, may eventually expand the public land along the coast. The lighthouse station was constructed in the late 1800s, when this was a very remote section of the California coast, and the lighthouse staff and their families had to be nearly self-sufficient. The area is exposed to significant winds and surf, as it is exposed to the north. Today the lighthouse still works, though with a modern replacement for the original light. If you look closely you may be able to see the light along the descending ridge on the right side of the morro.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.