US Coast Guard: Protecting us for 105 years Jan 28, 2020

US Coast Guard: Protecting us for 105 years

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.

© Tom Schwabel/Tandem Stills + Motion

palette

Today in History

Jan 28, 2018Winter scenery near Kuhmo, Finland
Jan 28, 2019Ancient groves in Australia
Jan 28, 2021Avatars of the Wolf Moon
Jan 28, 2022Short-eared owl
Jan 28, 2023The Bahamas as seen from the ISS
Jan 28, 2024Channel Country, Australia
Jan 28, 2025Short-eared owl
Jan 28, 2026Whanganui National Park, Retaruke, New Zealand

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Aug 10, 2025World Lion Day
Mar 27, 2020Pretty in pink, and purple, and red…
Aug 17, 2025International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend
May 7, 2024A duckling swimming in a water meadow, Suffolk, England
Jul 2, 2021A meerkat stands alone
Mar 15, 2026Pacific Rim Whale Festival
Apr 25, 2024World Penguin Day
Aug 7, 2025National Lighthouse Day
Sep 14, 2020Tiny fliers head south
Jul 14, 2025Shark Awareness Day
Dec 2, 2024Moose, Denali National Park, Alaska
Nov 3, 2022International Day for Biosphere Reserves
Jun 20, 2020 Beyond Walls for World Refugee Day
May 27, 2021Listening to the sea
Nov 11, 2020Honoring our veterans
Nov 29, 2018A Christmas market with a long history
Feb 3, 2024Carnival of Venice
Apr 16, 2022National Park Week begins
Dec 13, 2025Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California
Sep 6, 2024Glenariff Forest Park, Northern Ireland, UK
Jun 12, 2020Big sky at Big Bend
Dec 21, 2025Winter solstice
Feb 3, 2018Rooftops in the walled city of Urbino, Italy
Jun 26, 2018Celebrating Madagascar on its Independence Day
May 9, 2019An endless journey
Mar 8, 2024International Womens Day
Nov 27, 2024Tombeau du Géant in Bouillon, Belgium
Jul 31, 2025Ring-tailed lemur
Oct 29, 2023Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia
May 30, 2021Who s hiding in the kelp?