Mexico, officially the United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos or EUM), is the second largest country of Latin America and the largest Spanish-speaking nation in the world. With an east coast on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea and a long west coast on the Pacific Ocean it has by far the longest coastline in Latin America and, as a result, the largest number of lighthouses. Mexico is a federal union of 31 states (estados) plus the capital district, and the states are subdivided into municipalities (municipios). This page includes lighthouses of the state of Quintana Roo, which faces east on the Caribbean Sea. Quintana Roo is known for the beach resorts of the Riviera Maya, including Cancún and the island of Cozumel, and also for the Mayan ruins of Tulum and other sites. In Spanish the word for a lighthouse is faro, baliza is a beacon, isla is an island, cabo is a cape, punta is a promontory or point of land, péñon is a rock, arrecife is a reef, bahía is a bay, ría is an estuary or inlet, estrecho is a strait, río is a river, and puerto is a port or harbor. Mexican lighthouses are managed by the Port Captains and Maritime Affairs Unit (Unidad de Capitanías de Puerto y Asuntos Marítimos, UNICAPAM). Many of the larger light stations are staffed by resident civilian keepers. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. Light List numbers are from NGA Publication 110 for Caribbean lights and Publication 111 for Pacific lights.
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![]() Mahahual Light, Mahahual, December 2023 ex-Google Maps street view |
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Information available on lost lighthouses
Notable faux lighthouses:
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![]() Cayo LObos Light, Banco Chinchorro, January 2016 photo copyright Capt. Peter Mosselberger; used by permission |
Adjoining pages: South: Belize | West: Mexico Southern Gulf Coast
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted December 2004. Checked and revised April 23, 2025. Lighthouses: 38. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.