by LeadingLight » Wed May 11, 2011 9:22 am
Seriously: the general rule would be the higher the light, the longer the visibility. However, there are limitations. Technical and financial, but mainly "natural". If you put the light too high, it will often be obscured by mist or low clouds. On some sites, like Point Loma (San Diego), you'll find an old lighthouse built on a cliff or other high point, and a new one built at the foot of that hill. The reason to build that new one is in fact that the high elevation of the old light caused the problems with the visibility. So higher is not always better. The elevation will depend of the needed visibility and therefor be different on different locations and in different circumstances. Landfall lights will be higher than secundairy lights and sector lights, or other lights that mark just a canal.
Leading Light
Frans la Poutré
The Netherlands
51 34 06.7 N - 006 01 57.8 E