Ebright Azimuth
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Coordinates: 39°50′09.11″N 75°31′08.39″W / 39.8358639°N 75.5189972°W
The Ebright Azimuth is the point with the highest benchmark monument elevation in Delaware. It is marked with a geodetic benchmark monument and has an elevation of 447.85 feet (136.50 m) above sea level. The only state high-point with a lower elevation is Britton Hill in the state of Florida at 345 feet (105 m) above sea level.
The Ebright Azimuth[1][2] is located about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north of downtown Wilmington, Delaware, in far northern New Castle County, within a few feet of the Pennsylvania state line. It is near Concord High School, to the north of Naamans Road, at the middle of the intersection of Ebright Road and Ramblewood Drive. This is an entrance to the Dartmouth Woods development.
Surveying by NGS and DGS personnel indicates that the mobile home park just west of Ebright Road is at least 2 feet (61 cm) higher than the benchmark.[3][4] The land under the mobile home park is not "natural elevation" since it is a man-made plateau that was constructed to prevent flooding in the area.[citation needed] Man-made elevations do not change a state's "high point" location.[5]
Contrary to what many people believe upon first impression, "Ebright Azimuth" is not a person's first and last name. James and Grant Ebright owned the property on which the benchmark was placed.[1]
 Delaware High Point Sign |
 Road around the sign with radio tower to the right |
 Southbound View of the Peak from the State Line |
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[edit] Radio Tower History
The self-supporting radio tower just south of the benchmark was constructed in 1947 by Western Union as part of an historic C-band microwave radio relay system that linked New York City and Washington, D.C. This site was assigned the name "Brandywine" in recognition of Brandywine Creek located several kilometers to the west and was licensed with the call sign KGB29.[6] Western Union's engineers specified a heavy-duty prefabricated fire tower structure, which allowed the microwave transmitters and receivers to be installed inside the cab. "Dish" antennas, mounted behind the window openings, were aimed towards the adjacent relay stations at Mt. Laurel, 33.8 miles (54.4 km) to the northeast, and Elk Neck near Elkton, Maryland, 30.5 miles (49.1 km) to the southwest.[7]
Like most of their early microwave relay sites, Western Union decommissioned the Brandywine installation near Ebright Azimuth as more-reliable broadband fiber systems were developed. The structure now supports several VHF and UHF land mobile radio antennas.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Ebright". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=JU3626. Retrieved on 2008-12-17
- ^ "Details for Benchmark: JU3626". Geocaching.com. http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.aspx?PID=JU3626. Retrieved on 2008-12-17.
- ^ Schenck, William S.. "Highest Point in Delaware". Delaware Geological Survey. http://www.dgs.udel.edu/publications/pubs/factsheets/highestpoint.aspx. Retrieved on 2008-12-17.
- ^ "Regarding the highest point in Delaware". Delaware Repeater Association. http://www.dra73.org/highestpoint.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-17.
- ^ http://www.thedctraveler.com/tag/highpoint/
- ^ "Radio Stations Operated by the Western Union Telegraph Company" (JPG). Plant and Engineering Department. Western Union Telegraph Company (archived by A Secret Landscape). 1959. http://coldwar-c4i.net/WU/station_list_1.jpg. Retrieved on 2008-12-17.
- ^ "Radio Relay Systems". New York, Washington, Pittsburg. archived by A Secret Landscape. http://coldwar-c4i.net/WU/DC_Pitts_NYC-map.jpg. Retrieved on 2008-12-11.
[edit] External links
- "Historic Markers with Google Maps". State of Deleware. http://archives.delaware.gov/markers/. Retrieved on 2008-12-17.</ref>
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