In recognition of the modern US Coast Guard, formed on this day in 1915, we"re featuring the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, one of many lighthouses managed by the USCG. How did Cape Disappointment get its name? A British fur trader in 1788 mistook the mouth of the Columbia River for a bay and was disappointed because his ship couldn"t pass due to the river"s shallow bar. Many ships would eventually sink in these dangerous waters, but this lighthouse has warned off countless others since it was lit in 1856, making it the first lighthouse in the Pacific Northwest. Most of the lighthouses in the US have been built and maintained by the US Coast Guard and its predecessors.
US Coast Guard: Protecting us for 105 years
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
-
At ease, it’s Armed Forces Day
-
Pride Month
-
And the skies filled with bats…
-
American bison
-
World Giraffe Day
-
The Colosseum of Rome, Italy
-
Shi Shi Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington
-
Working for that cliffside view
-
An ice cap-puccino
-
Terraced fields of green
-
Celebrating National Dentist Day
-
Abraham Lake, Alberta, Canada
-
World Book Day
-
Big wheels on a big mountain
-
Lake Tyrrell, Victoria, Australia
-
Surf s up—Down Under
-
Innerdalsvatna Lake, near Ålvundeidet, Norway
-
The Christmas Bird Count begins
-
Siblings Day
-
Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
-
Churún Merú waterfall in Venezuela
-
A festival of lights in India
-
Let s get lost
-
Irohazaka road
-
Horsetail Fall, Yosemite National Park, California
-
A goldie gala
-
The Great Glen
-
Astronomy Day
-
Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina