Ebright Azimuth

Location map
Delaware
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caption=Location of Ebright Azimuth in Delaware

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 is located about 6.5 miles (10.4 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 two feet (60 cm) higher than the benchmark. [http://www.udel.edu/dgs/Publications/pubsonline/info8.html] 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.Fact|date=February 2007 Man-made elevations do not change a state's "high point" location.Fact|date=February 2007

Contrary to what many people believe upon first impression, "Ebright Azimuth" is not a person's first and last name. Ebright is the name of the road where the monument is located and also the last name of a local family. However, the term Azimuth refers to the horizontal component of a direction.

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 callsign KGB29. [http://coldwar-c4i.net/WU/station_list_1.jpg] 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, 54.4 km (33.8 mi) to the northeast, and Elk Neck near Elkton, Maryland, 49.1 km (30.5 mi) to the southwest. [http://coldwar-c4i.net/WU/DC_Pitts_NYC-map.jpg]

Like most of their early microwave relay sites, Western Union decommissioned the Brandywine installation at Ebright Azimuth as more-reliable broadband fiber systems were developed. The structure now supports several VHF and UHF land mobile radio antennas.

ee also

*List of U.S. states by elevation

External links

* [http://www.state.de.us/sos/dpa/markers/ Delaware State Historical Markers] Links to all official markers categorized by county.
* [http://www.dgs.udel.edu/publications/Pubs/FactSheets/HighestPoint.aspx The Highest Point in Delaware, By William S. Schenck]