Farallon Island Light

Farallon Island Light is a lighthouse in San Francisco County, California. California has 52 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow, 6 of them in San Francisco County.

It was built in 1855, in the Civil War era, making it the oldest of the 33 in California with a recorded construction date; the tower stands about 41 feet tall (17th tallest of 26 measured in California); its light sits 358 feet above the water; the light characteristic is recorded as Fl W 15s (a white flash every 15 seconds), with a range of about 14 nautical miles; it guards Pacific Ocean; the structure is built of brick.

Status check, 2026-11: This is the second tower on the site, first lit in late 1855 or on Jan 1, 1856. The first tower, from 1853, was torn down because it was too small for its first-order Fresnel lens. The lantern room has since been removed, and the tower now carries a Vega VRB-25 beacon. It is not reachable by road: the nearest road is about 20 miles away, so it is seen from shore or reached by water. It stands at 37.6992° N, 123.0018° W.

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