Balache Point Rear Range Light

Balache Point Range Light, near the Canso Causeway c. 1995

This photo is of the Rear Range Light, which is the only building of the two range lights which is still standing. The Front Range Light, established in 1963, was replaced by a skeleton tower in 1991. We do not have an image of the earlier tapered square wood tower, white, with a red stripe and red lantern, so there is no link to it.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Kathy Brown, Photo - © Courtesy Department of Fisheries and Oceans

Balache Point Range Lights Locator Map

BALACHE POINT I - Light Details

• Location: SW end of point, east side of Strait of Canso
• Standing: This light is no longer standing.
• Operating: This light is no longer operating.
• Began: 1905
• Year Lit: 1905
• Structure Type: Square wood tower, white
• Light Characteristic: Fixed White (1941)
• Tower Height: 032ft feet high.
• Light Height: 044ft feet above water level.

History Items for This Lighthouse

• 1908 - hand fog horn established
• 1922 - 1941 - 5th order dioptric lens, hand fog horn
• 1950 - 1955 - discontinued, probably when locks opened

BALACHE POINT II - Light Details

• Light Type: Rear Range Light
• Location: Range Light at the North end of the Canso Lock
• Standing: This light is still standing.
• Operating: This light is operational
• Automated: All operating lights in Nova Scotia are automated.
• Date Automated: Automated by 1993
• Began: 1963
• Year Lit: 1963
• Structure Type: Tapered square wood tower, white, red stripe, red lantern. Front Range Light is a skeleton tower, 1991.
• Light Characteristic: Fixed Yellow (1990)
• Tower Height: 022ft feet high.
• Light Height: 046ft feet above water level.

History Items for This Lighthouse

• 1973 - automated by this date (probably 1963), alteration this year
• 1990 - electric lantern, seasonal (Apr-Dec)
• 1991 - rear replaced by skeleton tower