Alternate Name(s):
South Pass Range
Type:
Year Established:
1831
Existing:
Yes
Source:
LL-1908
Download:
File Type:
jpg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2000
Photo Courtesy of:
Mike & Carol McKinney
Collection / Donor:
LOCATION
Location:
Entrance to Mississippi River
Latitude:
29° 0.9'
Longitude:
89° 10'
City / Town:
Venice
U.S. State:
Louisiana
Location County:
Plaquemines
Country:
United States
OWNER & ACCESS
Owner / Manager:
USCG
Open to Public:
No
STRUCTURE
Year Tower Established:
1881
Tower Construction Material:
Iron
Tower Foundation:
Pilings
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
108
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
105
Tower Shape:
Skeletal
Tower Daymark:
White
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
No
OPTICS
Current Optic:
Doublet
Original Optic Type:
First Order Fresnel
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No
Entered by:
Entered Date:
Jul 20, 2017
Through the middle of the Mississippi River Delta flows South Pass, which in the 1830s became the preferred entrance to the Mississippi. Before that, South Pass had long been known, but was unlit and therefore difficult to navigate. In 1682, La Salle planted his marker there. Evidence seems to show that South Pass may even have been preferred as early as 1720, but the French fortified and lit Northeast Pass instead due to the needs of parallel navigation.