Lighthouses of Brazil: Atlantic Islands

Brazil administers four groups of small islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, including several of the most remote and least well known islands of the world. This pages lists the lighthouses built on those islands. Only one, Fernando de Naronha, is inhabited. The Portuguese word for a lighthouse is farol, plural faróis. The word farolete is used for smaller lightbeacons. Lighthouses in Brazil are owned by the navy (Marinha do Brasil) and maintained by the Centro de Sinalização Náutica e Reparos Almirante Moraes Rego (CAMR) in the Diretoria de Hidrografia e Navegacão (DHN). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume G of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 110. General Sources Online List of Lights - Brazil Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas.

Farol de Fernando de Noronha (left) and Farol de Ilha Rata; CAMR photos

Fernando de Noronha Lighthouses

Note: Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago about 350 km (220 mi) east northeast of Cabo de São Roque on the mainland. There are 21 islands, but only the largest island, also called Fernando de Naronha, is inhabited. Governed as a special district of Pernambuco state, the island has a permanent population of about 2000. Accessible by air, the island attracts scuba divers and ecotourists.

Fernando de Noronha (Alto de Bandeira)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 203 m (666 ft); flash every 10 s, two white flashes followed by one red flash. 10 m (33 ft) octagonal masonry tower with gallery, painted white. A photo is above. Located on a peak near the western tip of the island of Fernando de Noronha. A Google satellite view shows a dirt track leading to the lighthouse, so it might be possible to arrange 4WD transportation to the station. Site status unknown. ARLHS FDN-001; Admiralty G0144; NGA 17792.

Ilha Rata

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 63 m (207 ft); one long (1.5 s) white flash every 15 s. 21 m (69 ft) square masonry tower, painted white. A photo is at the top of this page, Trabas has a photo by Thomas Philipp, Márcio Cabral de Moura has a view from the sea, and Google has a satellite view. Ilha Rata is the second-largest island of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, located just northeast of the island of Fernando de Noronha itself. It has no reliable source of water and has been unhabited since the lighthouse was automated. Site and tower closed (landing on the island requires a special permit). ARLHS FDN-002; Admiralty G0132; NGA 17788.

Atol das Rocas Lighthouse

Note: The South Atlantic's only atoll, the Atol das Rocas is a group of low, barren islands about 145 km (90 mi) west of Fernando de Noronha and about 240 km (150 mi) northeast of Cabo de São Roque on the mainland. Invisible to sailors from more than two or three miles away, the islands have been a notorious hazard to navigation ever since Manoel Luiz wrecked his ship on the reef in 1501. The atoll is a biological reserve, closed to visitors without special permission. Administratively, the atoll is attached to the state of Rio Grande do Norte. Atol das Rocas (5) 1967 (station established 1883). Active; focal plane 59 ft; two white flashes every 6 s. 15 m (49 ft) square pyramidal steel skeletal tower, painted white. Ruins of the third lighthouse, a 1935 concrete skeletal tower and masonry keeper's house, also survive. In Daniela Mesquita's photo at right, the 1935 lighthouse ruin is in the foreground, in front of the ruined keeper's house, with the present light tower at the right. Another photo of this desolate location is available, Alex McPherson has a more distant view, and Márcio Silveira's December 2007 photo shows a closeup of the ruins of the 1935 station. Keepers heroically tended the original light (mounted on a wooden post and later on an iron mast) until they were withdrawn in 1914. Located on the Ilha do Farol, the larger of the two islands within the reef. ARLHS FDN-003; Admiralty G0146; NGA 17800.

Atol das Rocas, January 2005 Wikipedia Creative Commons photo by Daniela Mesquita

St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks Lighthouse

Note: The St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks are a small cluster of rocky islets, actually an isolated summit of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, located in mid-Atlantic about 100 km (60 mi) north of the Equator and roughly 1000 km (625 mi) northeast of Cabo de São Roque. The islands are famous among geologists as one of the only places where rock from the Earth's mantle is exposed at the surface. Penedos São Pedro e São Paulo (St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks) (2) 1995 (station established 1930). Active; focal plane 29 m (95 ft); white flash every 10 s. 6 m (20 ft) round fiberglass tower, painted red with one white horizontal band. The light is solar-powered and automated. A tiny 4-man scientific station is occupied continuously by navy personnel or scientific researchers, who serve 15-day shifts. John Vergari's photo is at right, and CAMR has a photo of the islands. The 1930 lighthouse was knocked out of service by earthquakes; its ruins remain. Site and tower closed. ARLHS SPP-001; Admiralty G0130; NGA 17786. Ilha Trindade Lighthouse Note: The volcanic island of Trindade and the nearby, much smaller island of Martim Vaz are located far out into the South Atlantic, about 1200 km (750 mi) east of Vítoria in southern Brazil. During the colonial period, a renegade American claimed the islands in 1893, and then they were occupied by Britain from 1895 to 1897. To assert Brazilian sovereignty, the Navy maintains a permanent base on Trindade, staffed by rotating crews of about 30 or 35. The First Naval District maintains a short web page for the island. The islands are attached administratively to the state of Espíritu Santo. Enseada dos Portugueses Range Front Date unknown. Active; focal plane 45 m (148 ft); quick-flashing red light. 12 m (36 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white. The light can be seen in an aerial photo posted by the First Naval District (click on photo 03), and Trabas has a distant view from the sea taken by Capt. Peter Mosselberger. Located behind the naval station, on the north coast of the island. Site and tower closed. Admiralty G0315; NGA 18234.

Penedos São Pedro e São Paulo, June 2009 Wikipedia Creative Commons photo by John Vergari

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining page: West: Northeastern Brazil

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Posted February 11, 2008. Checked and revised January 26, 2010. Lighthouses: 5. Site copyright 2010 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.