The United States of America is a federal union of 50 states and a capital district. In the southeastern corner of the country most of the state of Florida occupies a long peninsula (about 500 mi (800 km) long and up to 160 mi (250 km) wide) separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico; the state's western "panhandle" extends westward along the Gulf coast. As a result Florida has by far the longest coastline of any state of the eastern United States. Nearly all of the coast is low and sandy, broken occasionally by narrow inlets leading to shallow lagoons. For visibility at a distance the Florida coast requires tall lighthouses. Florida has about three dozen traditional lighthouses including several of the country's most famous light towers. The Florida Lighthouse Association (FLA) works for preservation of all the light stations. Nearly all the onshore stations are now supported by local lighthouse societies and FLA helped organize a Reef Lights Association to work for preservation of the offshore lights. Efforts of FLA and local associations have led to restoration projects undertaken or planned at most of the onshore lighthouses. Few states have worked as hard on lighthouse preservation as Florida in recent years. This page includes lighthouses of Florida's Atlantic coast. Lighthouses of the Florida Keys and the west coast are on separate pages. Navigational aids in the United States are operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, but ownership (and sometimes operation) of historic lighthouses has been transferred to local authorities and preservation organizations in many cases. Florida east coast lights are the responsibility of the Coast Guard's Seventh District, which includes Sector Jacksonville for the northern coast and Sector Miami for the southern coast.. Aids to Navigation Teams are stationed at Jacksonville and Ponce de Leon Inlet in Sector Jacksonville and at Fort Pierce and Fort Lauterdale in Sector Miami. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. USCG numbers are from Volume III of the U.S. Coast Guard Light List.
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First Coast (North Coast) Lighthouses
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![]() St. Johns Light, Mayport, September 2020 Google Maps photo by Allen Forrest |
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Central Coast Lighthouses
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![]() Cape Canveral Light, Cape Canaveral, February 2024 Instagram photo by Florida Lighthouse Association |
Gold Coast (South Coast) Lighthouses
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Lighthouses of Inland Lakes
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Georgia | East: Bahamas | South: Florida Keys | West: Florida West Coast
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted 2000. Checked and revised September 17, 2024. Lighthouses: 27. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.