Walton Lighthouse is located on the west jetty at the entrance to Santa Cruz Harbor, adjacent to Seabright State Beach, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north-northwest of Monterey, in Santa Cruz, California. It is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of the Santa Cruz Light at Point Santa Cruz. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers first surveyed the Santa Cruz coast for a potential harbor in 1879. In 1949, Santa Cruz was resurveyed, evaluating several sites, including Neary Lagoon, Woods Lagoon, and Schwan Lagoon. Woods Lagoon was ultimately selected despite lacking natural features to shelter a harbor entrance. Its proximity to the mouth of the San Lorenzo River necessitated significant dredging. Between 1958 and 1960, the State Department of Parks and Recreation began acquiring land for the harbor. In 1962, the U.S. Congress allocated $1.6 million for jetty construction and the dredging of Woods Lagoon for the original south harbor basin. Construction of the south harbor began in 1962 and was completed in 1964 with 360 boat slips. In 1973, the basin was extended to accommodate an additional 455 slips.
The entrance to the harbor is protected by jetties made of tetrapods. From 1964 to 1996, a lighted navigational aid, consisting of a box structure , was located on the west jetty. In 1996, it was replaced by a cylindrical structure, and in 1998, a simple standpipe held the light. The Santa Cruz community proposed a more elegant structure, and with a major donation from Charles A. Walton of Los Gatos, a new lighthouse was designed by Mark Mesiti-Miller and built by Devcon Construction, Inc. Construction began with a cylindrical inner core housing electrical equipment and a circular staircase of 42 steps leading to the top of the lighthouse. Surrounding the inner core of the Walton Lighthouse is a matrix of reinforcement rods that support the concrete tower, which has a wall thickness of 4.5 feet (1.4 m) at the base. The lantern room is topped with a copper roof. Dedicated in 2002, the lighthouse was named in honor of Derek Walton, who served in the Merchant Marine and reportedly died of polio in the early 1950s. The structure stands 41.5 feet (12.6 m) tall, with a green light flashing every four seconds at a focal plane of 36 feet (11 m). Weighing 350,000 pounds (158,757 kg), it is designed to withstand significant wave energy.
On March 11, 2011, the magnitude 9.0 Tōhoku Earthquake generated a tsunami that caused damage across the Pacific basin. It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan and the fourth most powerful in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center issued warnings for coastal areas in most of California, all of Oregon, and parts of Alaska. In California and Oregon, waves reached 7.9 feet (2.4 m) high. In California, damage resulted from strong currents created as the waves surged in and out of enclosed areas such as ports and harbors. Areas that typically experience a tidal rise and fall of 5 feet (1.5 m) over a 12-hour cycle were unable to cope with the same change in water level occurring over just 20 minutes. This rapid rise and fall in harbor areas created localized eddies and high-velocity currents, which scoured around piles and coastal structures, exerting significant forces on boats and floating docks. In the Santa Cruz harbor, the damage included docks and boat slips. Thirteen boats reportedly sank, and approximately 100 more were damaged. See a short video here. Read more here and here. Explore more of Walton Light and Santa Cruz Harbor here: