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Light Houses several purposes. The main purpose is to warn ships of an approaching shoreline or danger. The second purpose is for navigation. Bearings can be taken on several different objects to triangulate your position. Different lighthouses are different shapes and sizes and are all painted with different paint schemes. This way they can be distinguished from each other. When a mariner sees a tall lighthouse with a black and white stripes that are spiralled from the top down then they know that they are off of the North Carolina coast town of Buxton and they are passing Diamond Shoals. The next lighthouse up the coast is painted with black and white rings. Knowing how far apart the houses are, they can tell how fast they are going as they pass them. All lighthouses display a light pattern that is unique from all the others in the area.

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17y ago

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