DeTour Reef Light
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| Location | Lake Huron, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | 45°56′56.12″N 83°54′10.98″W / 45.9489222°N 83.9030500°WCoordinates: 45°56′56.12″N 83°54′10.98″W / 45.9489222°N 83.9030500°W |
| Year first lit | 1931 |
| Foundation | Concrete Crib pier |
| Construction | Reinforced concrete and steel |
| Tower shape | Square tower, Integral White square superstructuredecahedron lantern |
| Markings / pattern | White with black trim & red roof |
| Height | Tower - 78 feet (24 m) |
| Focal height | 74 feet (23 m) |
| Original lens | 3½-order Fresnel Lens |
| Current lens | VRB-25 system |
| Range | W 16 nautical miles; 29 kilometres (18 mi), R 15 miles (24 km) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 10s (R sector) Red from 079.5° to 189.5°. |
| Fog signal | HORN: 2 every 60s |
| Racon | "D" (Delta)(– • •) |
| ARLHS number | USA-226 |
| USCG number |
7-12770 |
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DeTour Reef Light Station
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| Nearest city | DeTour Township, Michigan |
| Area | 0.1 acres (0.040 ha) |
| Architect | Office of Supt. of Lighthouses |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival or Art Deco |
| MPS | Light Stations of the United States MPS |
| NRHP Reference # | 05000151 |
| Added to NRHP | March 15, 2005 |
| Heritage | place listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
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7-12770
The DeTour Reef Light is a non-profit-operated lighthouse marking the southern entrance of the DeTour Passage between the eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Drummond Island. The light is an automated active aid to navigation. It marks the northern end of Lake Huron. The passage is used by almost all of the Great Lakes commercial freighter traffic moving to and from Lake Superior, with approximately 5,000 vessel movements annually. It is said to be "the gateway to Lake Superior." In addition, many recreational boaters use the passage. The Light is located in Lake Huron, three miles (5 km) south of the nearest town, DeTour Village, Michigan.
The southern entrance to DeTour Passage is made dangerous by a shoal, DeTour Reef. In order to enter or leave the passage, boats must thread past a shallow area no more than 23 feet (7.0 m) deep.
In 1847 a lighthouse was located on shore at Point DeTour, Michigan to protect the DeTour Passage at the northwestern end of Lake Huron. In 1931 it was moved offshore on to DeTour Reef. It is locally called the "Gateway to Superior”.
The DeTour Reef Lighthouse, raised in 1931, not only marks the channel, but also is built atop DeTour Reef on a crib structure, and warns boats away from it. The lighthouse and its concrete base are 83 feet (25 m) tall.
After commercial bids were determined to be unsatisfactory, the light was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The structure was finished in 327 working days. This iteration of the light was built for $140,000. Some sources have described it as "Art Deco."
The concrete foundation is similar to the Martin Reef Light located about 10 miles (16 km) to the west, and Poe Reef Light located near Cheboygan, Michigan. The same crew built all three lights around the same time. It is almost a 'fraternal twin' of the Fourteen Foot Shoal Light which was built in 1930. In that sense, by using the same crews, equipment and personnel, the builders followed in the tradition of the builders of Spectacle Reef Light, White Shoal Light, and Waugoshance Light, thereby achieving real savings and efficiency.
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Wikipedia