# Cape Beale Light

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"Cape Beale" redirects here. For the cape in the Southern Ocean, see [Cape Beale (Antarctica)](/source/Cape_Beale_(Antarctica)).

**Cape Beale Lightstation** is an active staffed [lighthouse](/source/Lighthouse) on [Vancouver Island](/source/Vancouver_Island) in [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia), Canada.

## History

The lighthouse was built in 1874 and its [focal plane](/source/Focal_plane) is 51 meters above [sea level](/source/Sea_level). The present tower was built in 1958 and marks the entrance to [Barkley Sound](/source/Barkley_Sound). It is 10 metres tall. Cape Beale received its name from [Charles William Barkley](/source/Charles_William_Barkley), captain of the *[Imperial Eagle](/source/Imperial_Eagle_(ship))*, who named it for his ship's purser, John Beale. The lighthouse is best known for its proximity to the [West Coast Trail](/source/West_Coast_Trail) which is the theoretical route survivors of shipwrecks would take to get to the nearby community of [Bamfield](/source/Bamfield,_British_Columbia).

In 1906, [Minnie Paterson](/source/Minnie_Paterson), the wife of Tom Paterson, [keeper](/source/Lighthouse_keeper) of the Cape Beale Light, helped rescue everyone on board the crippled barque *[Coloma](/source/Coloma_(barquentine))* during a severe storm.[2][3][4] For her actions, [Government of Canada](/source/Government_of_Canada) presented Minnie with a gold watch and a silver plate along with a silver tea service from the Seattle Maritime Union. Minnie told a reporter she would have gladly given up the awards and the media attention to have not had the wrecks.[4]

From 1971 to 1998, the Cape Beale Light was part of the [British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program](/source/British_Columbia_Shore_Station_Oceanographic_Program), collecting coastal water temperature and salinity measurements for the [Department of Fisheries and Oceans](/source/Department_of_Fisheries_and_Oceans) everyday for 27 years.[5]

## Geography and climate

Cape Beale Light has a rainy and mild [Oceanic](/source/Oceanic_climate) climate ([Köppen](/source/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification): *Cfb*; [Trewartha](/source/Trewartha_climate_classification): *Dolk*).

## See also

- [List of lighthouses in Canada](/source/List_of_lighthouses_in_Canada)
- [List of lighthouses in British Columbia](/source/List_of_lighthouses_in_British_Columbia)
- [Graveyard of the Pacific](/source/Graveyard_of_the_Pacific)
- [SS *Valencia*](/source/SS_Valencia)

## References

1. Retrieved December 25, 2015.

1. Valerie Green (2004). [*If More Walls Could Talk: Vancouver Island's Houses from the Past*](https://books.google.com/books?id=2sCTVlj7QuwC&pg=PA100). TouchWood Editions. pp. 100–. ISBN 978-1-894898-22-5. Retrieved 4 February 2019.

1. Adrienne Mason (2003). [*West Coast Adventures: Shipwrecks, Lighthouses, and Rescues Along Canada's West Coast*](https://books.google.com/books?id=pN6X7U4mnCUC&pg=PA98). Heritage House Publishing Co. pp. 98–. ISBN 978-1-55153-990-4. Retrieved 4 February 2019.

1. ["Lighthouses@Lighthouse Digest ... Women of the Light"](http://www.lhdigest.com/Digest/StoryPage.cfm?StoryKey=1728). *www.lhdigest.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20241130082352/http://www.lhdigest.com/Digest/StoryPage.cfm?StoryKey=1728) 2024-11-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-07-27.

1. ["British Columbia Lightstation Sea-Surface Temperature and Salinity Data (Pacific), 1914-present - Open Government Portal"](https://open.canada.ca/data/dataset/719955f2-bf8e-44f7-bc26-6bd623e82884). *open.canada.ca*. [Treasury Board of Canada](/source/Treasury_Board_of_Canada). Retrieved 2021-02-11.

## External links

- [Aids to Navigation](http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/aids/home) *Canadian Coast Guard*
- [Cape Beale Lightstation](https://web.archive.org/web/20050403205904/http://www.fogwhistle.ca/bclights/cbeale/)
- [Mills Landing Cottages and Charters](https://web.archive.org/web/20050223192705/http://www.millslanding.com/CapeBealeLighthouse.htm)
- [Bamfield, British Columbia](https://web.archive.org/web/20050728161747/http://www.vancouverisland.com/regions/towns/?townID=26)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cape Beale Light](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Beale_Light) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Beale_Light?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.