The Tallest Lighthouses

The 106 m (348 ft) Yokohama Marine Tower in Yokohama, Japan, is a tourist attraction that is claimed to be the world's tallest lighthouse. Although this claim has been accepted widely, the Marine Tower is actually a bit shorter than the 107 m (352 ft) Perry Memorial in the U.S. state of Ohio, which also functions as a lighthouse. This illustrates the shaky foundation on which many claims to be the tallest lighthouse rest. Both the Marine Tower and the Perry Memorial are topped by the 113 m (371 ft) Maritim Strandhotel Travemünde in Germany.

On this page is a listing of traditional lighthouses having a reported height of at least 46 meters (151 ft). A "traditional lighthouse" is a building built by navigation safety authorities primarily as an aid to navigation. It does not include structures such as the Yokohama Marine Tower, the Perry Memorial, and the Strandhotel, which carry navigational lights but were not built primarily as lighthouses. Heights are rounded to the nearest whole meter in the hope of reducing minor disputes between fans of lighthouses that have nearly the same height.

82.5 meters (271 ft)

  1. Île Vierge, France. 1902, granite; active. Tallest stone lighthouse.

77 meters (253 ft)

  1. Lanterna di Genova, Italy. 1543, stone; active. Tallest Italian and tallest Mediterranean lighthouse.

75 meters (247 ft)

  1. Gatteville, France. 1835, granite; active.

73 meters (240 ft)

  1. Lesnoy Mole Range Rear, St. Petersburg, Russia. Date unknown, probably concrete; active. Tallest Russian lighthouse.

72 meters (236 ft)

  1. Mulan Tou, Hainan, China. 1995, concrete, active.
  2. Baisha Men, Hainan, China. Date unknown (recent), active.

71 meters (233 ft)

  1. Storozhenskiy, Lake Ladoga, Russia. 1911, stone, active.

70 meters (230 ft)

  1. Osinovetskiy, Lake Ladoga, Russia. Around 1910, stone, active.
  2. Punta Penna, Abruzzo, Italy. 1948, concrete; active.

68 meters (223 ft)

  1. Cordouan, France. 1611-1788, stone; active.

67 meters (220 ft)

  1. Recalada a Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. 1906, cast iron skeletal; active. Tallest lighthouse of the Americas and of the Southern Hemisphere.

66 meters (216 ft)

  1. Le Planier, France. 1959, stone; active.
  2. Maasvlakte, Netherlands. 1974, concrete; active.

65 meters (213 ft)

  1. Swinoujscie, Poland. 1857, brick; active. Tallest brick lighthouse.
  2. Roches-Douvre, France. 1954, stone; active.

64 meters (210 ft)

  1. Stanislav Range Rear, Ukraine. 1911, cast iron skeletal; active.

63 meters (207 ft)

  1. Chipiona, Spain. 1867, stone; active. Tallest Spanish lighthouse.

62 meters (203 ft)

  1. Punta San Cataldo, Bari, Italy. 1869, stone; active.
  2. Campen, Germany. 1891, cast iron skeletal; active.
  3. Aveiro, Portugal. 1893, stone; active. Tallest Portuguese lighthouse.
  4. El Rincón, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. 1925, concrete; active.
  5. Calcanhar, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Date unknown, reinforced concrete; active.

61 meters (200 ft)

  1. Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA. 1870, brick; active. Tallest North American lighthouse.
  2. Voslapp Oberfeuer, Germany. 1962, concrete; active.

60 meters (197 ft)

  1. Borkum Großer, Germany. 1879, brick; active.
  2. Pulau Bojo, North Sumatra, Indonesia. 1883, cast iron; active.
  3. Nosy Alagnagna (Île aux Prunes), Madagascar. 1932, concrete; active.

59 meters (193 ft)

  1. Port Sa'id, Egypt. 1860; inactive. Tallest African lighthouse.
  2. Punta Médanos, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. 1893, cast iron tripod; active.
  3. Isla de Lobos, Uruguay. 1907, concrete; active.
  4. Morro Jable, Canary Islands, Spain. Date unknown, concrete; active.

58 meters (190 ft)

  1. Cikoneng (Anyer), Java, Indonesia. 1885, cast iron, active.
  2. Cabo San Antonio, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. 1892, cast iron tripod; active.
  3. Cape Charles, Virginia, USA. 1895, cast iron skeletal; active.
  4. Ostende, Belgium. 1949, concrete and brick; active.
  5. Constanta, Romania. 1961, concrete, active.

57 meters (187 ft)

  1. Les Héaux de Bréhat, France. 1840, stone; active.
  2. Les Baleines, France. 1854, limestone; active.
  3. Pulau Langkuas, Belitung, Indonesia. 1883, cast iron; active.
  4. Mabian Zhou Range Rear, Guangdong, China. Recent, concrete; active.

56 meters (184 ft)

  1. Terschelling, Netherlands. 1594, stone; active.
  2. Kijkduin (Lange Jaap), Netherlands. 1878, cast iron; active
  3. Maspalomas, Canary Islands, Spain. 1890, stone; active.
  4. Mikelbaka, Latvia. 1955, concrete; active.
  5. Balje Oberfeuer, Germany. 1979, concrete; active.

55 meters (180 ft)

  1. Ras el-Tin, Egypt. 1848, stone; active.
  2. Créac'h, France. 1863, granite; active.
  3. Amédée, New Caledonia. 1865, cast iron; active..
  4. Ameland, Netherlands. 1881, cast iron; active.

54 meters (177 ft)

  1. Norderney, Germany. 1874, brick; active.
  2. Claromecó, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. 1922, concrete; active.
  3. Querandí, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. 1922, concrete; active.
  4. Kronshtadt, Russia. Early 1920s, concrete; active.
  5. Police Range Rear, Poland. Recent, concrete; active.

53 meters (174 ft)

  1. Ponce de Leon Inlet, Florida, USA. 1887, brick; active.
  2. Sõrve, Estonia. 1960, concrete; active.

52 meters (171 ft)

  1. Goulphar (Belle-Île), France. 1836, granite; active.
  2. Absecon, New Jersey, USA. 1857, brick; active.
  3. Barnegat, New Jersey, USA. 1859, brick; inactive.
  4. Pakri, Estonia. 1889, brick; active.
  5. Punta Maternillos (Faro de Colón), Cuba. 1894, brick; active. One of the tallest lighthouses of the West Indies.
  6. Cap Ferrat, France. 1949, concrete; active.
  7. Westhoofd, Netherlands. 1950, brick; active.
  8. Livorno, Italy. 1955 (replica of 1304 lighthouse), stone; active.
  9. Yevpatoriya, Ukraine. 1965, concrete; active.
  10. Carapachibey, Cuba. Recent (before 1983), concrete; active. One of the tallest lighthouses of the West Indies.
  11. Tossens Oberfeuer, Germany. 1988, concrete; active.
  12. Otterndorf Oberfeuer, Germany. Recent, concrete; active.

51 meters (167 ft)

  1. Cap de la Hague, France. 1837, granite; active.
  2. Fire Island, New York, USA. 1858, cement-clad brick; active.
  3. Cabo de Palos, Spain. 1865, stone; active.
  4. Île de Sein, France. 1952, concrete; active.
  5. Ras Muari (Cape Monze), Pakistan. Date unknown, concrete; active.

50 meters (164 ft)

  1. West Schouwen, Netherlands. 1840, brick; active.
  2. Cape Lookout, North Carolina, USA. 1859, brick; active.
  3. Tanjung Kelian, Bangka, Indonesia. 1862, stone; active.
  4. Gaski, Poland. 1878, brick; active.
  5. Cape Henry, Virginia, USA. 1881, cast iron-clad brick; active.
  6. Damar Besar (Edam), Java, Indonesia. 1881, cast iron; active.
  7. Sembilangan, Madura, Indonesia. 1882, cast iron; active.
  8. Ras Bir, Djibouti. 1952, concrete; active.
  9. Sfintu Gheorghe, Romania. 1967, concrete; active.
  10. Yantai Shan, Shandong, China. 1980s? concrete; active.
  11. Punta del Hidalgo, Canary Islands, Spain. 1990s, concrete masonry; active.
  12. Arciprès Grande, Western Sahara. Date unknown; active.
  13. Watwick Point, Wales, U.K. Date unknown; active. Tallest British lighthouse.
  14. Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India. Date unknown, concrete; active. Tallest Indian lighthouse.

49 meters (161 ft)

  1. Torre de Hercules, Galicia, Spain. ca. 100 AD, stone; active. World's oldest lighthouse.
  2. Chennai (Madras), India. 1844, stone; inactive.
  3. Sombrero Key, Florida, USA. 1858, wrought iron skeletal; active.
  4. Cayo Bahía de Cádiz, Cuba. 1862, cast iron; active.
  5. Alguada Reef, Myanmar. 1865, granite; active(?).
  6. Bodie Island, North Carolina, USA. 1872, brick; active.
  7. St. Augustine, Florida, USA. 1874, brick; active.
  8. Currituck Beach, North Carolina, USA. 1875, brick; active.
  9. Morris Island, South Carolina, USA. 1876, brick; inactive. Endangered.
  10. Dondra Head, Sri Lanka. 1890, brick; active.
  11. Ras Taguerness, Tunisia. 1895; active.
  12. Navassa Island, USA. 1917, reinforced concrete; inactive. Endangered.
  13. El Hank, Morocco. Around 1920, masonry; active.
  14. Ilha de Santana, Maranhão, Brazil. 1964, concrete block; active.
  15. Brunsbüttel Oberfeuer, Germany. 1975, concrete; active.
  16. Pulicat, Tamil Nadu, India. 1986, concrete; active.
  17. Nanshantou, Hebei, China. 1991, concrete; active.

48 meters (157 ft)

  1. Porto Piave Vecchia, Veneto, Italy. 1853, stone, active.
  2. Dry Tortugas, Florida, USA. 1858, brick; active.
  3. Cape May, New Jersey, USA. 1859, brick; active.
  4. Cape Wickham, Tasmania, Australia. 1861, stone; active. Tallest Australian lighthouse.
  5. Capo Santa Maria di Leuca, Puglia, Italy. 1866, stone; active.
  6. Jaga Utara (North Watcher), Indonesia. 1869, cast iron skeletal; active.
  7. Minicoy, Lakshadweep, India. 1885, brick; active.
  8. Sulina, Romania. 1983, concrete; active.
  9. Cabo Orange, Amapá, Brazil. 1997, steel skeletal with aluminum siding; active.

47 meters (154 ft)

  1. Pointe Saint-Martin (Biarritz), France. 1834, stone, active.
  2. Gabo Island, Victoria, Australia. 1862, stone, active.
  3. Oak Island, North Carolina, USA. 1958, reinforced concrete; active.
  4. Qinhuangdao Main Channel Middle Range Rear, Hebei, China. 1975, concrete, active.
  5. Ganen Jiao, Hainan, China. 1996, concrete, active.

46 meters (151 ft)

  1. Chassiron (Île d'Oléron), France. 1836, stone; active.
  2. Cape Romain, South Carolina, USA. 1858, brick; inactive. Endangered.
  3. Great Isaac, Bahamas. 1859, cast iron; inactive. Endangered.
  4. Pensacola, Florida, USA. 1859, brick; inactive.
  5. Sletringen, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. 1899, cast iron, active. One of the tallest Scandinavian lighthouses.
  6. Bengtskär, Finland. 1906, stone, active. One of the tallest Scandinavian lighthouses.
  7. Sidi Bou Afi, Morocco. 1916, masonry; active.
  8. Leça, Portugal. 1926, concrete; active.
  9. Torres, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. 1952, concrete; active.
  10. Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. 1977, concrete; active.
  11. Cochin, Kerala, India. 1979, concrete; active.
  12. Pondicherry, India. 1979, concrete; active.
  13. Little Andaman, Andaman Islands, India. Date unknown, concrete; active.

Phares de l'Île Vierge
Phares de l'Île Vierge, September 2009
Creative Commons photo by Larry Myhre

La Lanterna di Genova
77 m Lanterna di Genova, Italy, September 2006
Creative Commons photo by Paolo Costa


63 m Faro de Chipiona, Spain, June 2006
Creative Commons photo by Chris Applegate

Cape Hatteras Light
61 m Cape Hatteras Light, U.S.A., April 2008
anonymous Creative Commons photo

Port Said Light
59 m Port Said Light, Egypt, April 2008
Creative Commons photo by Michael Tyler

Faro de Cabo San Antonio
58 m Faro de Cabo San Antonio, Argentina, October 2008
Creative Commons photo by Nicolás Lope de Barrios


52 m Pakri Light, Estonia
Estonian Maritime Administration photo


50 m Tanjung Kelian Light, Indonesia, October 2007
photo copyright Hanry Tanod; used by permission