Lighthouses of Aruba

Aruba is an island located in the southern Caribbean Sea only 27 km (17 mi) from the coast of Venezuela. The island is 32 km (20 mi) long and has a population of about 110,000. Aruba has been a Dutch colony since 1636. In 1845 it was joined with the other Dutch islands of the West Indies to form the Netherlands Antilles. It left that federation in 1986 and has been a separate Dutch territory since then. The Dutch word for a lighthouse is vuurtoren. The lighthouses are probably maintained by the Aruba Ports Authority, a corporation owned by the government. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 110. General Sources Online List of Lights - Aruba Photos by various photographers posted by Alex Trabas. Leuchttürme Mittelamerikas und der Karibik auf historischen Postkarten Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse. Lighthouses * [Seroe (Ceru) Colorado (3)] Date unknown (station established 1881). Active; focal plane 51 m (167 ft); white flash every 6 s. Approx. 8 m (26 ft) post light with a square wire cage enclosure surrounding the beacon. Another photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. The wire enclosure is designed to prevent vandalism of the light. The original light was on a wood tower, and Huelse has a postcard view of the second lighthouse, a square masonry tower. Ruins of the second tower are visible near the present light. Located near the southeastern tip of the island. Accessible by road. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ARU-002; Admiralty J6368; NGA 15960. ** Oranjestad (Fort Zoutman, Willem III Tower) Tower built 1796; station established 1876. Inactive. 5-story square stone tower; upper third painted white, middle third red, and lower third blue. A navigational light was formerly displayed from the top of this historic tower. Huelse has a postcard view of the tower with its lantern, Roger Wollstadt has a 2008 photo, another 2008 photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. Restored in 1983, the tower now houses the Historical Museum of Aruba. Located at Zoutman and Oranje Streets in downtown Oranjestad, one block from the waterfront. Site and tower open daily. Site manager: Fundacion Museo Arubano. ARLHS ARU-004.

Noordwestpunt (California) Light, January 2006 Creative Commons photo by Angela Sevin

* Noordwestpunt (California, Hudishibana)

1916. Active; focal plane 55 m (180 ft). 30 m (98 ft) stone tower with lantern and double gallery, on an octagonal stone base. Lighthouse unpainted, lantern painted black. The 1-story keeper's house has been greatly expanded into a popular Italian restaurant with a multilingual name, La Trattoria el Faro Blanco. Angela Sevin's photo is above, a November 2009 photo is available, Jessie Harris has a good 2006 photo, Trabas has a photo by Douglas Cameron, Marinas.com has aerial photos, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. The lighthouse is nicknamed for the British steamship California, which wrecked here in 1891. Around 2000 visitors reported the lighthouse to be in poor condition, but by 2004 it had been repainted and repaired. The nearby disappearance in 2005 of the young U.S. visitor Natalie Holloway made the lighthouse familiar to Americans. Located about 1 km (0.6 mi) southeast of the northern point of the island. Accessible by paved road. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ARU-001; Admiralty J6330; NGA 15850.

Adjoining pages: East: Curaçao | South: Venezuela

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Checked and revised December 11, 2011. Lighthouses: 2. Site copyright 2011 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.