# Do We Still Need Lighthouses? - Source: NOAA Ocean Facts (ocean-facts.noaa.gov), Public domain, NOAA National Ocean Service, Ocean Facts - Reading level: Grades 6 to 8 - Subjects: How Things Work, Ocean, Science - Topics: lighthouses, aids, beacons, navigation, still, buoys - Length: 252 words, about 2 min - By: NOAA National Ocean Service - Original: - Page: - Open in Sprouts: Though numerous lighthouses still serve seafarers, modern **electronic aids to navigation** play a larger role in **maritime safety** in the 21st century. Lighthouses and beacons are towers with bright lights and fog horns located at important or dangerous locations. They can be found on rocky cliffs or sandy shoals on land, on wave-swept reefs in the sea, and at entrances to harbors and bays. They serve to warn mariners of dangerous shallows and perilous rocky coasts, and they help guide vessels safely into and out of harbors. The messages of these long-trusted aids to navigation are simple: either **STAY AWAY, DANGER, BEWARE!** or **COME THIS WAY!** While lighthouses still guide seafarers, nowadays, the Global Positioning System (GPS), NOAA’s nautical charts, lighted navigational aids, buoys, radar beacons, and other aids to navigation effectively warn mariners of dangerous areas and guide them to safe harbors. Some 48,000 federal buoys, beacons, and electronic aids of the marine transportation system mark more than 25,000 miles of waterways, harbor channels, and inland, intracoastal and coastal waterways, and serve more than 300 ports. On August 7, 1789, Congress approved the Lighthouse Act—the first public works program undertaken by the new federal government—which established and supported lighthouses, beacons, buoys, and public piers. Members of Congress thought the bill was so important that they passed the measure even before they established pay for themselves! August 7 Is recognized as National Lighthouse Day. Even with the advent of advanced navigation technology, many lighthouses still sparkle for seafarers.