Looking for lighthouses from different places, I checked on Africa, and found out that all the lighthouses I had featured from Africa thus far had been from the country of South Africa. So I looked further and found this one, the Les Mamelles lighthouse in Senegal, specifically Dakar.
The Lighthouse Directory calls this one of the world's great lighthouses. It's on a high hill (one of the Mamelles, which is a French way of saying "breasts"), and it used to be visible from a long way away. The Lighthouse Directory also says that it has not been maintained well, and the light might not shine so far anymore.
But still, it has history, and furthermore, it's on the westernmost point of the continent of Africa. Here's excerpted information from the esteemed Directory.
"1864. Active; focal plane 120 m (394 ft); white flash every 5 s. 16 m (52 ft) cylindrical masonry tower with lantern and gallery, attached to the front of a 2-story keeper's house. 2nd order Fresnel lens in use. Entire structure painted white. ... This is one of the world's great lighthouses, guiding ships around the western tip of Africa. Its light has a range listed at 57 km (almost 36 mi). Sadly, poor maintenance of the aging equipment hinders the operation of the light."Pictures, and a short candid video. Video first:
Now the pictures.
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