Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse

The Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse (French: Phare de Cap-des-Rosiers) is a lighthouse near the village of Cap-des-Rosiers in Gaspé, Quebec, Canada.

It was classified as a National Historic Site of Canada on June 11, 1973. It was listed as a Federal Heritage Building on March 31, 1994.

The Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Canada, standing 34.1 metres (112 ft) tall. It is situated on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the top of a steep cliff. It is located at the mouth of the river, where it flows into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is open for tours in the summer season.

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada installed a plaque at the base of the lighthouse in 1977, with inscriptions in French and English, which reads (in English):

Built in 1858, this lighthouse is one of a series of tall, tapering towers erected on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on Lake Huron by the Department of Public Works. The 112 foot structure is the tallest lighthouse in Canada; its stone tower faced with firebrick has walls over seven feet thick at the base, tapering to three feet at the top, with foundations extending to eight feet beneath the surface. Originally a dwelling was attached to the tower. A powerful light 136 feet above high water served as a major coastal aid for shipping headed in the estuary of the St. Lawrence from the Gulf.

Keepers

Eugène Trudeau 1856-1867
Auguste Trudeau 1867-1886
Jean B. Vien 1886-1890
Eugène Costin 1890-1915
P. E. Theriault 1915-1920
J. Napoléon Côté 1920-1927
J. Ferguson 1927-1931
J. Napoléon Côté 1931-1935
Joseph Ferguson 1935-1951
Joseph-Narcisse Rioux 1951-1970
Yves Packwood 1970-1971
Owen Gleeton 1971-1972
Paul-Roger Caron 1972-1978
Yvon Élément 1978-1981

Climate

Cap-des-Rosiers has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). The average annual temperature in Cap-des-Rosiers is 3.6 °C (38.5 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,195.1 mm (47.05 in) with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 16.2 °C (61.2 °F), and lowest in January, at around −9.8 °C (14.4 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Cap-des-Rosiers was 33.0 °C (91.4 °F) on 9 August 2005; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −32.0 °C (−25.6 °F) on 17 February 2008.