There are more than 20,000 lighthouses around the world, though if all forms of illuminated navigational beacon are factored in, that number increases drastically. Of these, the country to have built the most is the USA which over history has constructed more than 1,500 lighthouses, according to the US Lighthouse Society. Only around 850 were ever operational simultaneously, with peak usage being in the early 20th century, circa 1910. Today, the number of lighthouses still standing in the USA is in the region of 670.
Within the USA, the state with the most lighthouses is Michigan with approximately 130 current lighthouses along its many miles of shoreline on the Great Lakes. Historically the state may have had as many as 250 active lighthouses.
The oldest lighthouse in the USA still in use is the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey, which was first lit on 11 June 1764. The tallest lighthouse in the country is the 198-ft (60.4-m) Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina, built in 1872.
