Nantucket Harbor Range Lights

This article is about the current range lights in Nantucket Harbor. For the predecessor range lights, see Nantucket Beacon and Brant Point Light.

The Nantucket Harbor Range Lights are range lights that were built in 1908 to guide vessels through the narrow channel to Nantucket Harbor. They replaced an older arrangement involving the Nantucket Beacon and the Brant Point Light, which became unusable when the latter was replaced with a new tower.

Nantucket Harbor Range Lights

Location	Nantucket, Massachusetts, Brant Point, US
Coordinates	41°17′21″N 70°05′30″W
Light
First lit	1908
Nantucket Range Rear Light
Construction	lumber
Height	46 ft (14 m)
Shape	Pyramidal Skeleton Tower[1][2][3]
Markings	KRW
First lit	1908
Focal height	51 ft (16 m)
Lens	Higher intensity beam to seaward.
Characteristic	F W
Nantucket Reef Range Front Light
Construction	lumber
Height	30 ft (9.1 m)
Shape	Pyramidal Skeleton Tower[1][2][3]
Markings	KRW
First lit	1908
Focal height	35 ft (11 m)
Lens	Higher intensity beam to seaward.
Characteristic	Q W

They display red and white vertical striped daymarks, type KRW, one of the twelve combinations used by the Coast Guard.

It is not known why the official USCG name of the front light, Nantucket Reef Range Front Light^[1] includes the word "reef".

References

1. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 135.
2. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-09-14. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
3. Rowlett, Russ (2009-09-14). "Lighthouses of the United States: Southeast Massachusetts". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.