Pilot Island
Taken July 21, 2019
Pilot Island is located in Wisconsin
Pilot Island
Pilot Island
Pilot Island is located in the United States
Pilot Island
Pilot Island
Geography
LocationDoor County, Wisconsin
Coordinates45°17′06″N 086°55′11″W / 45.28500°N 86.91972°W / 45.28500; -86.91972
Adjacent toLake Michigan
Highest elevation581 ft (177.1 m)
Administration

Pilot Island is an island in Lake Michigan in the Town of Washington, in Door County, Wisconsin; it is part of Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge. An abandoned lighthouse, the Pilot Island Light, rests on the island,[1][2] and three shipwrecks rest in the Pilot Island NW Site. Pilot Island lies in the middle of the southern opening of the Porte des Morts passage off the tip of the Door Peninsula.

Pilot Island earned its name due to the use of the island as a "pilot" by sailors going through the dangerous Porte des Morts passage.[3]

The lighthouse started operations in 1858 and continues to this day to be a maritime navigational aid. The island was often foggy and the fog signal would run for long periods of time. The fog signal was discontinued in 1962.[4]

From the lake

May 23, 2013

Nearby islands

Pilot Island is the small island at the lower right, with the larger Plum Island is at the lower left. Above Pilot Island is the long and narrow Detroit Island, with Washington Island in the distance.

References

  1. ↑ Seeing The Light – Pilot Island Lighthouse, (Archived September 9, 2010)
  2. ↑ Life on Pilot Island in 1955, (Archived January 3, 2018)
  3. ↑ "Pilot Island Lighthouse - WI Shipwrecks". www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  4. ↑ Wisconsin Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment Environmental assessment: Disposition of Public Domain Properties by Gayle F. Gordon, Parcel Descriptions and Resources by County, Door County, August 14, 2000, page 28


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