Lighthouses of Mayotte

Mayotte (Mahoré) is the easternmost of the Comoros, a group of islands in the Mozambique Channel midway between Madagascar and the African continent. France gained control over the island in 1843 and incorporated it into its Comoros colony. Independence for Comoros was planned for 1978, but in 1975 the Comorian parliament declared independence unilaterally. Deputies from Mayotte abstained, however, and in 1976 the people of Mayotte voted to continue their link to France. France then vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have confirmed Comorian sovereignty over Mayotte. On 31 March 2011 Mayotte became an overseas département of the French Republic. Dzaoudzi, on the northeast coast, is the capital of the territory. Aids t navigation are presumably maintained by the Port Authority of Mayotte. 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"). The front light of a range (alignement) is the feu antérieur and the rear light is the feu postérieur. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume D of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112. General Sources Online List of Lights - Îles Comores Photos by various photographers posted by Alex Trabas; the Mayotte photos are by Douglas Cameron.

Île Mtsongoma Feu Antérieur photo copyright Douglas Cameron; used by permission

Lighthouses

Cap Douamougno

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 81 m (266 ft); white, red or green light depending on direction, 2 s on, 2 s off. White tower, height unknown. Trabas has Cameron's very distant view, and Google has a satellite view. Located atop the narrow ridge of the Handréma Peninsula, at the northern tip of Mayotte. May be accessible only boat, as there do not appear to be any roads to this location. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6891; NGA 32777.

Récif Vaucluse

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 9 m (30 ft); four green flashes every 15 s. 9 m (30 ft) white concrete tower. No photo available, but Google has a good satellite view. Located on the east end of a reef east of the northern tip of Mayotte. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6892.5; NGA 32777.4.

Île Mtsongoma (M'Songoma) Feu Antérieur

Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; very quick flashing light, white, red or green depending on direction. Hexagonal white concrete tower, height unknown. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. The range apparently guides vessels through an opening in the coral reefs off the northeast coast of Mayotte. Located on Île M'Songoma, a small island about 5 km (3 mi) north of Dzoumonyé. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6892; NGA 32777.2.

Île Mtsongoma (M'Songoma) Feu Postérieur Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; very quick flashing light, white, red or green depending on direction. White concrete tower, height unknown. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on the Pointe de Bandraboua, a promontory of the mainland of Mayotte about 1.3 km (0.8 mi) south of the front light. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6892.1; NGA 32777.21. Isle Blanche (Longoni) Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 15 m (49 ft); two flashes every 6 s, white, red or green depending on direction. Approx. 8 m (26 ft) white tower with gallery. A 2009 photo is available, Trabas has Cameron's view from the sea, and Google has a satellite view. Located on a small island off the north coast of Mayotte, about 1 km (0.6 mi) northeast of the new port of Longoni and about 7 km (4.5 mi) northwest of Koungou. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6894; NGA 32777.5. Pamanzi Range Front Date unknown. Active; focal plane 11 m (36 ft); very quick-flashing white light. 11 m (36 ft) square pyramidal concrete tower. Trabas has Cameron's photo, a distant view and an aerial view are available, and Google has a satellite view. The range guides vessels approaching Labbatoir, an island off Mamoudzou on the east coast of Mayotte. Located at the water's edge on the northwest side of Labattoir. Site status unknown. Admiralty D6894.6; NGA 32766. * Passage Bandrélé (Bandélé) Feu Antérieur Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); quick-flashing red light, intensified on the range line. 8 m (26 ft) octagonal tower with a conical roof; the light is shown through a square window. Tower painted white with a red horizontal band. No photo available, but Google has a good satellite view. Almost certainly the light is identical to the rear light shown above. The range apparently guides vessels through an opening in the coral reefs off the east coast of Mayotte. Located on the coast about 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Mamoutzou. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS MAY-001; Admiralty D6900; NGA 32768. * Passage Bandrélé (Bandélé) Feu Postérieur Date unknown. Active; focal plane 54 m (177 ft); quick-flashing red light, intensified on the range line. 8 m (26 ft) octagonal tower with a conical roof; the light is shown through a square window. Tower painted white with a red horizontal band. 1-story keeper's house nearby. A photo appears above, amateur radio operator F6AML has a good photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located in Bandélé, 275 m (900 ft) west northwest of the front light and just off national route 3. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS MAY-002; Admiralty D6900.1; NGA 32772.

Feu Postérieur du Passage Bandrélé Bureau des Phares et Balises photo courtesy of Michel Forand

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: East: Madagascar | West: Comoros

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Posted October 30, 2005. Checked and revised June 28, 2012. Lighthouses: 8. Site copyright 2012 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.