Final answer:
Daymarks are identified by their a. color and shape which are designed to provide navigational information to mariners during daylight hours. These characteristics are essential for visibility and quick comprehension of navigational guidance, differentiating them from other aids such as lights and buoys.
Step-by-step explanation:
The features of a daymark used to identify the beacon upon which it is mounted include its color and shape. Daymarks are visual signs placed on fixed structures, such as beacons or lighthouses, used during daylight hours to provide navigational information to mariners.
The specific combination of color and shape is uniquely designed to convey important information, such as location, direction, or warning about navigational hazards. For example, differently colored and shaped daymarks can indicate the safe side to pass a hazard or the side on which a beacon should be kept when navigating.
The color of a daymark can be vivid and contrasting to ensure visibility against the background landscapes or waterscapes. Shapes, too, are significant – they can be triangular, square, circular, or have other distinct geometric forms, sometimes with additional symbols or numbers that provide further guidance. These characteristics are crucial as they can be recognized from a distance and understood quickly by sailors to assist in safe navigation.
Although size, signal characteristics, and method of construction are other aspects of navigational aids, they are not primarily used for the visual identification of a daymark like color and shape are.
Hence, the correct option for identifying features of a daymark is (a) Color and shape.