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French Guiana, the only remaining European territory in South America,
is located on the north coast of the continent adjoining Brazil to the
east and south and Suriname to the west. The territory is governed as
an overseas département of the French Republic. Formerly known as the site of the infamous Devil's
Island penal colony, French Guiana has become better known in recent
years as the site of the European Space Agency's Spaceport
launch facilities. Both the prison and the Spaceport are now popular tourist
destinations.
The French word for a lighthouse, phare, is often reserved for
the larger coastal lighthouses; a smaller light or harbor light is called
a feu (literally "fire," but here meaning "light").
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.
- Lighthouses
* Île
Royale (2)
- 1934 (station established 1864). Active; focal plane 65 m (213 ft); two
white flashes, separated by 2.5 s, every 10 s. 29 m (95 ft) skeletal tower
with lantern and gallery mounted atop a round masonry tower. Masonry tower
painted white; skeletal tower and lantern painted bright red. Larry Halff
has a 2007 photo.
The lighthouse stands amid the buildings of a former penal colony, closed
in 1951. (Devil's Island, the best known part of the penal colony, is separated
from Île Royale by a narrow strait.) The light was originally shown
from the roof of the prison hospital. The island is accessible from Cayenne
by passenger ferry, and guided tours are available. Located at the highest
point of the island. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS FRG-002; Admiralty J6894;
NGA 17416.
- * [Kourou (Tour Dreyfus)]
- Date unknown. Inactive (daybeacon). Tripod with a red trapezoidal daymark
mounted atop a 12 m (39 ft) round stone tower with gallery. Tower painted
white. Gaetano Cerrone has a closeup photo,
Jonathan Walker has another good photo,
and Google has a satellite
view. This tower was built as a signal tower for communications between
the mainland and the Îles du Salut, including Devil's Island.
The tower is named informally for Alfred Dreyfus, the French Army officer
famously imprisoned on Devil's Island from 1895 to 1899. Located on
the Pointe des Roches, the promontory on the west side of the entrance
to the Kourou River in Kourou. Site open, tower status unknown.
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Phare de l'Île Royale, February 2002
photo copyright William
and Stephanie Quick
used by permission
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