Lighthouses of Gabon

The nation of Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic (République gabonaise in French) straddles the Equator on the west coast of Africa, with about 800 km (500 mi) of coastline facing on the Atlantic. The country was organized as a French colony around 1885 and from 1910 to 1959 it was part of the consolidated colony known as French Equatorial Africa. Gabon became independent in 1960.

South of Cape Lopez the coast of Gabon faces southwest on the South Atlantic Ocean; north of the cape the coast faces northwest on the Gulf of Guinea. In the north of the country the Gabon Estuary, formed by the Komo and Ebe Rivers, provides a sheltered harbor for the capital, Libreville. Port-Gentil, in the lee of Cape Lopez, is the country's second international port.

Gabon is divided into nine provines.

French is the official language of Gabon. The French word for a lighthouse is phare, although a smaller light or harbor light is called a feu (literally "fire," but here meaning "light") or a balise (beacon). In French île is an island, cap is a cape, pointe is a promontory or point of land, roche is a rock, récife is a reef, baie is a bay, estuaire is an estuary or inlet, détroit is a strait, rivière is a river, and havre is a harbor.

Aids to navigation in Gabon are maintained by the Service National de la Signalisation Maritime.

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 113.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - Gabon
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas.
Phares d'Afrique
Photos posted by Alain Guyomard and Robert Carceller as part of their Phares du Monde web site.
World of Lighthouses - Gabon
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Lighthouses in Gabon
Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia.
Afrikanische Leuchttürme auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard images from the collection of Klaus Huelse.
Navionics Charts
Navigation chart information for Gabon.


Cap Lopez Light, Port Gentil, May 2020
Google Maps photo by Darlen Nahïlia

Ogooué-Maritime Province Lighthouses
Gamba
Date unknown. Active(?); listed by NGA with focal plane 47 m (154 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 40 m (131 ft) steel framework tower. The light is (or was) probably on the tower centered in an aerial view; Google has a satellite view. Located at the Gamba Oil Terminal in Gamba, a town at the southern edge of Ogooué-Maritime Province. Site and tower closed. ex-Admiralty D8610; NGA 25444.
** Cap Lopez (2)
1911 (station established 1897). Inactive for many years. 30 m (98 ft) cast iron tower with lantern and double gallery. Darlen Nahïlia's 2020 photo appears at the top of this page, Lightphotos.net has a 2012 photo, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. Cap Lopez is the westernmost point, not only of Gabon but of all of equatorial Africa. Historically the lighthouse was the landfall light for Port Gentil, which is sheltered in a broad bay behind the cape. Today the lighthouse is critically endangered by detrioration and beach erosion and could collapse at any time. Paul-Antoine Ferrantini's 2023 photo shows its sad condition. and a uly 2010 photo shows the base of the lighthouse is sometime in the water. Nonetheless it is one of the best known tourist attractions in the country. In 2012 a new light on a tall skeletal mast (next entry) was installed at Cap Lopez. Located about 2 km (1.25 mi) south of the point of the cape and about 20 km (13 mi) northwest of Port Gentil. The area is accessible by paved road. Site open; the tower is too dangerous to enter. . ARLHS GAB-005.
Cap Lopez (3)
2012. Active; focal plane about 35 m (115 ft); white flash every 5 s. 30 m (98 ft) triangular skeletal mast. Upper third of the tower painted red, lower 2/3 white. Patrice Penven contributed the photo at the bottom of this page; it shows the lighthouse being installed in June 2012. Google has a satellite view. Located about 500 m (0.3 mi) northeast of the historic lighthouse adjacent to the Cap Lopez petroleum tank farm. Site status unknown. Admiralty D4290.1; NGA 25373.
Port Gentil (2) (Fisherman's Quay)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 13 m (43 ft); white flash every 4 s. Approx. 8 m (26 ft) white concrete tower. Nelis Bakker has a 2019 view from the estuary and Google has a satellite view. No longer a fishing port, this is Gabon's main commercial harbor. Located at the enrance to the main harbor basin of Port-Gentil. Site and tower closed. Admiralty D4291; NGA 25372.3.
* Port Gentil (1)
1920s (?). Inactive. Approx. 16 m (52 ft) hexagonal cast iron skeletal tower with lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted black, lantern white with a green dome. The tower also carries a white trapezoidal daymark panel. A February 2005 photo of the abandoned lighthouse (no longer available), showed it to be in very poor condition at that time. Before June 2007 the lighthouse was restored to its appearance in Sam Hedouin's photo at right. Wikimedia has a 2009 photo, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view of the site (the tower and its accompanying service building are on the west (left) side of the street intersection in the center of the image). Port-Gentil is Gabon's second largest city and a center for the oil industry. Located on the waterfront of Port-Gentil, one block southwest of the main quay. Site open; tower closed. ARLHS GAB-006.
Phare de Port Gentil
Port Gentil Light, Port Gentil, June 2007
ex-Panoramio photo copyright Sam Hedouin; used by permission

Estuaire Province Lighthouses
* Pointe Gombé (Ngombé, Pointe Denis)
1891. Active; focal plane 57 m (187 ft); white flash every 10 s. 12 m (39 ft) octagonal cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery, rising through the center of a resort building. Lighthouse colored blue with a white rectangular grid, as seen in the 2023 photo at right. Ralph Wigzell has a 2010 photo, Gilless Nolland Mihindou has a 2022 photo, and Google has a satellite view. This is the landfall light for Libreville, the national capital. The lighthouse has been restored in recent years and the station has been converted into a rustic resort called Le Phare de Momo. The station is within the Parc National de Pongara. Located on the western point of the peninsula sheltering the Estuaire du Gabon. Accessible by road. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS GAB-002; Admiralty D4276; NGA 25316.
Pointe Owendo (Ovendo) (2)
Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 46 m (151 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. Listed by NGA as a 10 m (33 ft) square skeletal tower with lantern and gallery. Development of the port would have caused this light to be moved atop one of the structures shown in Google's satellite view and Arnaud Wanko-Ona's aerial view of the port. The Admiralty dropped its listing in 2023. Located on a promontory on the north side of the Estuaire du Gabon, one of the largest sheltered embayments on the western coast of Africa, about 20 km (13 mi) southeast of Libreville. Site status unknown. ARLHS GAB-004; ex-Admiralty D4286; NGA 25356.
[Libreville Breakwater]
Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 4 m (13 ft); green light, 2 s on, 2 s off. 3 m (10 ft) square stone tower. Mendome Flavien has a view from the sea and Google has an indistinct satellite view. The Admiralty dropped its listing in 2023. Located at the east end of a rubblestone breakwater protecting the harbor of downtown Libreville. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ex-Admiralty D4284; NGA 25348.

Pointe Gombé Light, Libreville, June 2023
Wikimedia Creative Commons photo copyright Ralph Wigzell; used by permission
Cap Santa Clara
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 30 m (98 ft); white flash every 10 s. 18 m (59 ft) "white pylon." No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on a south-pointing cape at the northern entrance to the Estuaire du Gabon, about 18 km (11 mi) northwest of Libreville. May be accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty D4274; NGA 25314.
* Cap Estérias (1 and 2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 18 m (59 ft); two white flashes, in a 2+1 pattern, every 15 s. 17 m (56 ft) triangular cylindrical skeletal tower. David Stanley's photo is at right and Bing has an indistinct satellite view. The original light was atop the square pyramidal masonry or concrete tower also seen at right; Huelse has a historic postcard view. Subsequently a square skeletal tower was mounted atop the pyramidal tower, as seen in a 2011 closeup and a 2008 photo. The building next to the lighthouse is (or was) a vessel traffic control station; we don't know if this station is active. Located on a prominent point of land about 3 km (2 mi) north of Sahoué and 23 km (14 mi) northwest of Libreville; the area has a number of beach resorts. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS GAB-001; Admiralty D4272; NGA 25312.
* Pointe N'Dombo (1 and 2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 7 m (23 ft); white flash every 4 s. 7 m (26 ft) white square tower. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. The satellite view shows two towers at this station; probably a masonry tower (on the left) has been replaced by a square white skeletal tower. Located on the beach at Pointe N'Dombo, about 10 km (6 mi) south of Cocobeach in the northwestern corner of the country. Site status unknown; the beach seems to be accessible from the main coastal highway. ARLHS GAB-003; Admiralty D4260; NGA 25304.

Cap Estérias Lights, Sahoué, August 2018
Google Maps photo by David Stanley

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

New Cap Lopez Light
New Cap Lopez Light, Port Gentil, June 2012
photo copyright Patrice Penven; used by permission

Adjoining pages: North: Equatorial Guinea | South: Republic of the Congo | West: São Tomé and Principe

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Posted September 15, 2005. Checked and revised March 23, 2024. Lighthouses: 12. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.