A Scandinavian beacon being lit. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well

Beacons are aids to navigation devices. Navigation is the process of reading and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another Intentionally conspicuous, beacons help guide navigators to their destinations. Beacon types include radar reflectors, radio beacons, and sonic or visual signals. Electric beacons are a kind of Beacon used with direction finding equipment to find ones relative bearing to a known location (the Beacon Visual beacons range from small, single-pile structures to large lighthouses or light stations and are located on land or in water. Lighted beacons are called lights; unlighted beacons are called daybeacons.

Classically, beacons are fires lit on hills or high places, used either as lighthouses for navigation at sea, or for signalling over land that enemy troops are approaching, and alerting the defense. A lighthouse is a Tower, building or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or in older times from a fire and used as an In the latter iteration, beacons are an ancient form of optical telegraphy, and were always parts of a relay league. A semaphore telegraph, optical telegraph, shutter telegraph chain, Chappe telegraph, or Napoleonic semaphore is a system A relay league is a chain of message forwarding stations in a system of Optical telegraphs radio telegraph stations or riding couriers An interesting

Systems of this kind have existed for centuries over much of the world. Indeed, in Scandinavia many hill forts were parts of beacon networks to warn against invading pillagers. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well A hill fort is a fortified refuge or defended settlement

In Israel beacons were used to show the beginning of the month. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics.

In Wales, the Brecon Beacons were named for beacons used to warn of approaching English raiders. The Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog is a Mountain range located in the south-east of Wales. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

In England, the most famous examples are the beacons used in Elizabethan England to warn of the approaching Spanish Armada. Romance and reality The Victorian era and the early twentieth century idealised the Elizabethan era The Spanish Armada ( Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada, "Great and Most Fortunate Navy" or Armada Invencible, "Invincible Many hills in England are named Beacon Hill after these beacons. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

Beacons have often been abused by pirates. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering A fire at a wrong position was used to direct a ship against cliffs or beaches, so the cargo could be looted after the ship sank or ran aground. In Geography and Geology, a cliff is a significant vertical or near vertical rock exposure

In The Lord of the Rings, a series of seven beacons are used as a signaling device between Gondor and Rohan. The Lord of the Rings is an epic Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Rohan, is a fictional realm in J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy era of Middle-earth. [1] In the film adaptation of The Return of the King, Gandalf has Pippin light the beacon closest to Minas Tirith. This article is about the live-action movie which shares a title with a book, video game, and animated film. Concept and creation Humphrey Carpenter in his 1977 biography relates that Tolkien owned a Postcard entitled Der Berggeist ("the mountain Biography Pippin was the only hobbit who had not yet reached his 'coming of age' when the Fellowship set out (being eight years younger than Merry while Frodo himself was 50 This article is about the city in the Third Age. For the First Age tower of the same name see Minas Tirith (First Age. The series is then lit, thereby notifying Rohan's King Théoden that Gondor calls for help in the battle against Sauron. Early life Théoden was the only son of King Thengel and Morwen of Lossarnach (a region of Gondor) Sauron (ˈsaʊrɒn Quenya: /sawrɔn/ literal meaning "Abhorred") is the title character and the principal Antagonist of the Fantasy

Byron Hall, famous animal rights activist, once famously quoted

"Its not a kangaroo man, its a fucking beacon!"

See also

• Aerodrome beacon
• Marker beacon
• Distress radiobeacons (ELTs, PLBs & EPIRBs)
• Strobe beacon
• Beacon, New York