Sitting on a remote Oregon Coast headland midway between Umpqua River and Yaquina Bay, Heceta Head Lighthouse was first lit on March 30, 1893. The lighthouse is the last major coastal beacon established in Oregon. It is among the most architecturally impressive lighthouses on the West Coast, placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1973. The cape and lighthouse owe its name to Don Bruno de Heceta of the Spanish Royal Navy, who in 1775 commanded an expedition to explore the Pacific Northwest. For more than a century the spectacular sentinel guided mariners through treacherous waters. When Oregon finished construction of US Highway 101, electricity and motorists followed, making the Oregon Coast a sightseeing destination. Heceta Head is highly visible to northbound travelers and notably the most photographed lighthouse in Oregon.