The Federative Republic of Brazil, the largest country in South America and fifth largest in the world, has a lengthy coastline, a large number of lighthouses, and a distinguished lighthouse history. Colonized by Portugal, Brazil declared its independence in 1822. Uniquely among American nations it was a monarchy as the Empire of Brazil until 1889. Brazil is a federation of 26 states and a federal district. This page covers lighthouses of the state of Bahia on Brazil's northeastern coast. one of the nine states in Brazil's Northeast Region. Bahia is Brazil's fifth largest state and it includes the longest coastline of any of the states. The tropical coastline faces across the South Atlantic Ocean towards Africa. The largest port in Bahia by far is the capital, Salvador (São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos); Ilhéus is another important port. The Portuguese word for a lighthouse is farol, plural faróis. In Brazilian use, the word farol generally applies to all light towers, regardless of whether they are enclosed structures or not. The word farolete or farolim is sometimes used for smaller towers. In Portuguese ilha is an island, ilhéu is an islet, cabo is a cape, ponta is a promontory or point of land, rocha is a rock, recife is a reef, baía is a bay, estreito is a strait, rio is a river, and porto is a port or harbor. Active lighthouses in Brazil are owned by the navy (Marinha do Brasil) and maintained by the Centro de Auxílios à Navegação Almirante Moraes Rego (CAMR) in the Diretoria de Hidrografia e Navegacão (DHN). Many of the larger lighthouses are staffed by resident keepers or by rotating crews of naval personnel. Only a small number of Brazilian lighthouses are open to the public. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. BR numbers are from the official Brazilian Lista de Faroís. Admiralty numbers are from volume G of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA numbers are from Publication 110.
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![]() Ilhota de Contas Light, Itacaré, October 2021 Google Maps photo by Gabriel Alves |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Northeastern Brazil | South: Southeastern Brazil
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Posted February 16, 2004. Checked and revised July 14, 2014 . Lighthouses: 38. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.