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One stalwart sentinel remains in South Africa; three in France; a handful in India, Myanmar (also known as Burma) and Portugal; and fewer than 50 in Canada. An

One stalwart sentinel remains in South Africa; three in France; a handful in India, Myanmar (also known as Burma) and Portugal; and fewer than 50 in Canada. Anyone know why there are so many still in Canada? People might be interested in the following project to turn Graves Light in Boston Harbor into a modern, livable space. It's tough as the space is tight and the conditions can be fierce ... last winter a storm ripped everything off the dock. http://graveslightstation.com http://graveslightstation.com

goodcanadian 8y ago
At a guess, Canada has a lot of coastline, especially compared to the others in the list. Much of it is quite rocky.
- nkrisc 8y ago
  No idea if it's true but it's a solid guess. Canada has far and away the most coastline of any nation. Amounts vary depending on source but they have roughly four times as much as the number two on the list, Norway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_length_of_coastline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_length_of...
- freddie_mercury 8y ago
  Not really. It is just that the Canadian government decided to keep paying for human light keepers and other countries decided that was a waste of money. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/keep-staffing-lighthouses-senate-panel-1.907940 https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/keep-staffing-lighthouses-s...
- mikestew 8y ago
  But the question isn't about getting rid of the lighthouses, it's about not staffing them. As one might suspect, lighthouses can be automated. No one needs to be nearby to refill the whale oil tank for the light.
ghaff 8y ago
I literally just learned about that before reading your comment. Pretty amazing. I've sea kayaked out there and it's not an easy landing under the best of circumstances.
poulsbohemian 8y ago
>Anyone know why there are so many still in Canada? I found myself wondering how many are part of the Northwest Passage, given Canada's national defense considerations there.

goodcanadian 8y ago

At a guess, Canada has a lot of coastline, especially compared to the others in the list. Much of it is quite rocky.

nkrisc 8y ago
No idea if it's true but it's a solid guess. Canada has far and away the most coastline of any nation. Amounts vary depending on source but they have roughly four times as much as the number two on the list, Norway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_length_of_coastline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_length_of...
freddie_mercury 8y ago
Not really. It is just that the Canadian government decided to keep paying for human light keepers and other countries decided that was a waste of money. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/keep-staffing-lighthouses-senate-panel-1.907940 https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/keep-staffing-lighthouses-s...
mikestew 8y ago
But the question isn't about getting rid of the lighthouses, it's about not staffing them. As one might suspect, lighthouses can be automated. No one needs to be nearby to refill the whale oil tank for the light.

ghaff 8y ago

I literally just learned about that before reading your comment. Pretty amazing. I've sea kayaked out there and it's not an easy landing under the best of circumstances.

poulsbohemian 8y ago

>Anyone know why there are so many still in Canada? I found myself wondering how many are part of the Northwest Passage, given Canada's national defense considerations there.