哈萨塔角灯塔，佛罗伦萨，俄勒冈州

© Tom Schwabel/Tandem Stills + Motio

黑夜海岸边的一盏灯

哈萨塔角灯塔位于俄勒冈州中部太平洋海岸边一处205英尺高的岬角上。这处海岬以西班牙巴斯克探险家唐·布鲁诺·德·哈萨塔的名字而命名。这位探险家在1775年带领了一次秘密探险，以巩固西班牙对北美太平洋沿岸的主权。当他们从墨西哥起航抵达这里的海岸时，船员们已经被坏血病折磨得奄奄一息。于是，哈萨塔决定返航。但在返航前，他绘制了地图，并书面记录了哥伦比亚河口以及这个高达1000英尺的海岬。他是第一个这样做的人，而这个岩石海岬最终也以他的名字命名。到了19世纪，在海岸周围航行的海员们呼吁建造一座灯塔来指引他们的方向。因为悬崖陡峭、位置偏远，这座56英尺高的灯塔是个复杂的工程。但第一道光束最终还是在1894年3月30日穿破了黑暗。

最开始，哈萨塔角的守灯人发现这里过于偏僻，有人刚来不久就不干了。人员频繁流动的情况一直持续到20世纪30年代才得以改善，彼时附近的俄勒冈海岸公路投入了使用，该地区也终于通了电。这座灯塔在第二次世界大战中也起到了小小的作用，当时有75名海岸警卫队队员和他们的狗驻扎在这里守卫海滩。这座灯塔在1963年实现了完全自动化。而到了1970年，守灯人的小屋则进入了一个新时代——它成为了附近社区大学的卫星校园。如今，这里已经被列入国家历史遗迹名录，而守灯人的小屋也变成了提供床和早餐的地方。

Heceta Head Light, Florence, Oregon, USA

© Tom Schwabel/Tandem Stills + Motio

Heceta Head Light, Oregon

Heceta Head Light is perched 62 metres above the Pacific Ocean on Oregon’s central coast. The headland is named for Spanish Basque explorer Don Bruno de Heceta, who led a secret expedition in 1775 to bolster Spain’s claim to the Pacific Coast of North America. Having sailed from Mexico, by the time the voyage reached these shores the crew was ravaged by scurvy and Heceta decided to turn back – but not before he became the first to map and record a written description of the mouth of the Columbia River, as well as this rocky 300-metre-high headland that would eventually be named after him. By the 19th century, construction of the 17-metre-tall lighthouse was underway, though complicated by the steep bluffs and remote location. The first light beam pierced through the darkness on 30 March, 1894.

The first lightkeepers at Heceta Head found the location too isolated, prompting several of them to leave the job after just a short period. Staffing turnover persisted until the 1930’s when nearby Oregon Coast Highway was put into service and the area received electricity. The lighthouse became fully automated in 1963, and by 1970 the lightkeeper’s house entered a new era as a satellite campus for a nearby community college. These days the area is on the National Registry of Historic Places and the lightkeeper’s cottages have a new life as rooms of a bed and breakfast.