We visited a local landmark today – the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse.  It was built in 1860 and during the construction there were several battles with the Seminole Indians in the area.

This site is fairly unique among lighthouses as it’s 1/2 mile inland from the ocean.  But, it’s up on a sand dune and also has the highest rated prism that can transmit the light 15 miles away.  The light source is only a 1000-watt bulb (originally they used a whale oil lamp) but the prism causes the light to be seen so far away.

It’s at the most eastern point in Florida, south of this area the shore curves, so this was a very dangerous area for ships who would sail along at night and not realize they were getting to close to the shore.  There are a lot of shipwrecks in the area because of this land feature, giving the area names like “Treasure Coast” and “Gold Coast”.

We climbed to the top of the lighthouse – 105 steps the guide told us.  He forgot to mention the 42 steps to get to the BASE of the lighthouse (because of the sand dune) so we had a good climb!  Here are some pictures: