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Capdepera lighthouse

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Technical data
Latitude N 39.715605000000
Longitude E 3.477302000000
Nominal range 20 nautical miles
Height above sea level 76 m.
Light pattern Group of 2+3 flashes every 20 seconds.
Daytime appearance White tower with red roof. Height 18 m.
History
Was designed by Emili Pou. The first light used a fixed optic surrounded by 6 rotating red lenses emitting a pattern of white light with red flashes every two minutes. It used an oil burning lamp for 3rd order lighthouses. In 1899 due to structural problems caused by damp, the roof terrace was replaced by a gabled, tiled roof. It was opened on November 30, 1861. In 1912 a 55mm incandescent petrol vapour Chance lamp was installed with the optic and light pattern remaining unchanged. A double wick Chance lamp was used as back-up. In 1924 the original optic was replaced by fixed catadioptric optic in a mercury flotation bath and surrounded by five rotating lenses emitting a light pattern consisting of a fixed light alternating with groups of 3+2 white flashes. The old optic is now on display at Portopí. In 1969 the lighting system was converted to run on electricity. The non-rotating part of the optic was kept but the rotating external lenses attached to the rotary mechanism were removed. Flashes were now produced by an electric flashing device. A horizon lens was installed in 1971. The fierce winds that lash this part of the coast were the cause of many occasions when the lighthouse keepers saved victims of shipwrecks. In 1869 they were decorated with the Spanish Government’s Cruz de Beneficencia after a wild storm caused havoc in the area.
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