2-981-818 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Saugor Lighthouse, off the mouth of the Hooghly, [India], 1876. 'The island of Saugor, upon which stands the iron lighthouse to guide ships approaching Calcutta as they enter the Hooghly river, is situated on the east side of the navigable channel most commonly used...The lighthouse, erected on Middleton Point, was constructed in England, and was placed where it is in 1853. The Hooghly, which has seven different channels open to vessels entering from the Bay of Bengal, is about 125 miles long. It is formed by the confluence of the Bhagruttee and Jellinghee streams, two large offsets of the Ganges. Its breadth at Calcutta is three quarters of a mile, and there is depth of water for ships drawing 17 ft. or 18 ft. to ascend the principal channel as far as that city. The Hindoos regard the island of Saugor as a very holy place'. From "Illustrated London News", 1876.