Cape Sarichef & Scotch Cap

Cape Sarichef and Scotch Cap. . Scotch Cap and Cape Sarichef lighthouses mark the north and south entrances to Unimak Pass in the Aleutian Islands. Both sites were declared to be too isolated for family life., Scotch Cap was the first light on Alaska's outside coast and is the most southerly in the state. Of three major shipwrecks there, one left keepers hosting 194 stranded crewmen for two weeks. In the mid-1930s, the original wood frame lighthouse was replaced with a concrete building., Cape Sarichef, is the most westerly lighthouse in North America. One winter, a Cape Sarichef keeper walked all the way around the island, 263 miles, to meet a schoolteacher at the False Pass Cannery., On April 1, 1946, the Scotch Cap lighthouse was destroyed by a tsunami that killed all five keepers. The lighthouse was rebuilt, on a cliff above the original site. The Cape Saríchef lighthouse also was moved higher., The tsunami destroyed Scotch Cap's original, third order lens. The one from Cape Sarichef, was lost in a warehouse fire. The Coast Guard manages both lighthouse sites., At-a-glance box , Cape Sarichef , . Location: Aleutian Islands, 76 miles north of Dutch Harbor , . First lighted: July 1, 1904 , . Original Optics: third order Fresnel lens , . Automated: 1979, Scotch Cap , . Location: Aleutian Islands, 70 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor , . First lighted: July 18, 1903 , . Original Optics: third order Fresnel lens , . Automated: 1971, Captions , (Left) Top, Cape Sarichef's original lighthouse. Below, Keeper Ed Moore gives a haircut to Assistant Keeper Ted Peterson. (US Coast Guard Photos) , (Right, top) Original Scotch Cap Lighthouse. (US Coast Guard Photo) , (Right, bottom) No trees grow on Unimak Island, so this Christmas tree was delivered by steamer to keepers Oscar Lindberg and Barney Loken. (US Coast Guard Photo)