Lighthouses of the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern 2/3 of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. A former Spanish colony, the country was conquered twice by Haiti in the early 1800s but has been independent since 1844. Santo Domingo, the capital and major port of the republic, is also the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere, founded in 1496.

Very little is known about the lighthouses of the Dominican Republic, so any information anyone can provide about them would be most welcome.

The Spanish word for a lighthouse is faro. Aids to navigation in the republic are maintained by the Dominican Navy.

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 numbers are from Publication 110.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - Dominican Republic
Photos by various photographers posted by Alex Trabas.
Leuchttürme Mittelamerikas und der Karibik auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard views posted by Klaus Huelse.

Faro de Francés Viejo
 Faro de Cabo Francés Viejo
photo by George Hurchalla, copyright Spot X Images; used by permission
North Coast Lighthouses
Cayo Arenas
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); white light, 2 s on, 4 s off. "Red tower, black lantern," according to NGA. No photo available, and the cay does not appear in Google's satellite view. Located on a cay about 10 km (6 mi) off Punta Rusia, the northwestern corner of the Dominican Republic. Accessible only by boat; transportation is available from Punta Rusia. Site status unknown. Admiralty J5422; NGA 14240.
Cayo Pablillo (Isla Cabrita, Isla Cabra) (1)
Date unknown (1800s). Inactive for many years. Approx. 23 m (75 ft) square masonry tower, now collapsing into ruins. A photo and a second photo are available, also a photo showing the island, and the shadow of the tower appears in a Google satellite view. According to NGA, there is an active light (focal plane 34 m (111 ft); white light, 3 s on, 9 s off) on a 15 m (50 ft) steel skeletal tower. This skeletal tower does not appear in the available photos. The island is just northwest of Monte Cristi at the northwestern corner of the country. Located atop a steep bluff on the northwest side of the island. Site status unknown. Site manager: Parque National Monte Cristi. ARLHS DOM-004; Admiralty J5426; NGA 14248.
El Morro de Monte Cristi
Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 262 m (860 ft); white light, 2 s on, 8 s off. 34 m (111 ft) "white metal" tower on a square base. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Monte Cristi is a steep mountain ridge on a peninsula at the northwestern corner of the Dominican Republic. The lighthouse is on the summit ridge of Monte Cristi. Site manager: Parque National Monte Cristi. ARLHS DOM-002; Admiralty J5427; NGA 14252.
* Puerto Plata
1879. Reactivated in 2002; focal plane 42 m (138 ft); white light, 2 s on, 4 s off. 24 m (80 ft) cast iron skeletal tower with lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted gold. Access to the lantern is by an exposed spiral stairway. Mike Bash's photo appears at right, an excellent closeup and a more distant view are available, and Google has a satellite view. The lighthouse was prefabricated in New York. Gravely endangered by rust and decay, the lighthouse was placed on the World Monuments Fund's 100-most-endangered list in 2000. In 2001, the fund granted $65,000 for restoration of the tower. Additional grants were made by American Express, Metaldom, and the Dominican government. The lighthouse was reactivated on September 13, 2002. Located on the east side of the entrance to the harbor of Puerto Plata on the north coast of the country. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site manager: Ayuntamiento de Puerto Plata. ARLHS DOM-003; Admiralty J5430; NGA List 14260.
Cabo Francés Viejo (1)
Date unknown. Inactive. Ruined 24 m (79 ft) white pyramidal concrete tower. George Hurchalla's aerial photo is at the top of this page, Felix Corona has a distant view (click on the photo for an enlargement), and Google has a satellite view. We need information on the history of this remote light station. The cape is a prominent headland north of Nagua on the north coast of the country. Site status unknown. Site manager: Parque National Cabo Francés Viejo. ARLHS DOM-001.
Cabo Francés Viejo (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 50 m (164 ft); white light, 2 s on, 8 s off. 26 m (85 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, painted white. No lantern. Located near the ruined historic tower. Site status unknown. Admiralty J5434; NGA 14272.
Cabo Samaná
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 141 m (463 ft); white flash every 5 s. 19 m (62 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white. A distant view from the sea is available, and Google has a satellite view. Cabo Samaná is the tip of the thumb-shaped Samaná Peninsula, which projects eastward parallel to the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic. The area has been quite remote, but a new highway, completed in 2008, has opened it to tourism for the first time. Located atop a very steep bluff at the northeastern tip of the cape; a rugged track reaches the site. Site status unknown. Admiralty J5438; NGA 14280.
Faro de Puerto Plata
Faro de Puerto Plata, February 2008
Creative Commons photo by Mike Bash
Cabo Engaño (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 30 m (98 ft); white flash every 5 s. Approx. 30 m (98 ft) square steel skeletal tower with gallery. The original tower was painted with red and white horizontal bands, but the present tower appears unpainted. Guillermo Rolandi has a photo, J.C. Martinez has a closeup, and Google has a satellite view. NGA lists a 20 m (66 ft) tower with a focal plane of 43 m (141 ft). The lighthouse marks the easternmost point of the island, overlooking the Mona Passage. Located on the beach about 2.5 km (1.5 mi) north of the cape. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS DOM-005; Admiralty J5444; NGA 14296.

South Coast Lighthouses
* La Romana
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 27 m (89 ft); white flash every 6 s. 21 m (69 ft) square steel skeletal tower with gallery. Trabas has a photo by Arno Siering, another closeup photo is available. La Romana, in the southeast corner of the republic, is well known for its beach resorts. Located on a prominent cape on the east side of the city of La Romana. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS DOM-011; Admiralty J5448; NGA 14312.
* San Pedro de Macoris (Punta Pescadero)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); white light, 3 s on, 7 s off. Approx. 11 m (36 ft) concrete tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on a promontory on the east side of the entrance to San Pedro de Macoris. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J5450; NGA 14316.
* Punta Torrecilla (Santo Domingo, San Souci) (2)
1986 (station established 1853). Active; focal plane 41 m (135 ft); white light, 2 s on, 2 s off, 2 s on, 4 s off. 38 m (125 ft) square pyramidal concrete tower painted in a blue and yellow spiral pattern. The USCG photo, taken about 2000, shows black and white spirals, but a 2003 photo by German lighthouse fan Bernd Claußen shows the current blue and yellow. Olivier Royer's photo is at right, Elena Sinalias has a 2009 photo, another good closeup and an aerial photo are available, Trabas has a photo by Capt. Theo Hinrichs, and Google has a fine satellite view. Huelse has a postcard view of the first lighthouse, a skeletal tower with lantern and gallery somewhat similar to the surviving Puerto Plata lighthouse. The original lighthouse was deactivated in 1967 and demolished, and there was no light until this tower was built in 1986. Located on a promontory east of the entrance to the harbor of Santo Domingo, on the south coast of the country. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS DOM-006; Admiralty J5457; NGA 14336.
Puerto Viejo de Azua
Date unknown (about 1960?). Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); two long (2 s) white flashes every 10 s. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) square skeletal tower, painted black. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. The Port of Azua, built in 1959, is located on the Bahía de las Calderas, about 100 km (60 mi) west of Santo Domingo. Located at the east end of a barrier island that protects the harbor entrance. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty J5475; NGA 14376.
Isla Alto Velo
Date unknown. Inactive (?); focal plane 163 m (535 ft); originally 2 white flashes every 10 s. Concrete tower painted with yellow and black bands. NGA notes the light was reported extinguished in 1992. No further information available, and Google's distant satellite view has no detail on the island. The lighthouse crowns a small island about 30 km (20 mi) southwest of Cabo Beata; this is the southernmost point of the country and of Hispaniola. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS DOM-007; Admiralty J5482; NGA 14388.
Faro de Punta Torrecilla
Faro de Punta Torrecilla (San Souci), September 2009
Creative Commons photo by Olivier Royer

Also a famous faux lighthouse:

[Faro a Colón (Columbus Lighthouse)]
1992 (begun in the 1930s). Active. A monumental 203.5 m (668 ft) pharos built as a memorial to Columbus (Cristoforo Colón in Spanish). The huge building, designed by the British architect J.L. Gleave, is shaped like a cross, its wings stepped back with increasing height like a pyramid. Another photo is available, and some information on the history of the building. There is no navigational beacon in the usual sense; the building has 149 searchlights that project a giant cross in the sky overhead. Located in downtown Santo Domingo. Site and tower open.

Another faux lighthouse:

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: East: Puerto Rico | West: Haiti

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Checked and revised October 27, 2011. Lighthouses: 13. Site copyright 2011 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.