On the southwest coast of South America the Republic of Chile has one of the world's longest and most dangerous coastlines, more than 4000 km (2500 mi) long with at least 5000 rocky islands. To guard this coast the Chilean Navy operated for many years one of the world's most active and most distinguished lighthouse services, the Chilean Maritime Signaling Service . Chile's present northern border was not established until 1929. During the War of the Pacific (1879-1883) Chile conquered the Atacama region from Bolivia and occupied the Antofagasta, Iquique, Arica, and Tacna regions of Peru. The Chilean occupation of Tacna and Arica was the cause of an extended dispute between Chile and Peru. In the 1929 Treaty of Lima the disputed area was divided, with Tacna returning to Peru and Arica remaining in Chile. The Península Serrano lighthouse at Iquique, shown at right, was built by Peru before the start of the war. Chile is divided into 16 regions (regiones) and the regions are subdivided into provinces (provincias). This page covers the five northernmost regions: Coquimbo, Atacama, Antofagasta, Iquique, and Arica. Many of the historic lighthouses of Chile are the work of George Slight (1859-1934), a Scottish engineer who moved to Chile in the 1890s and eventually became the head of the Chilean Maritime Signaling Service. In all he designed and supervised the construction of more than 70 lighthouses. The Spanish word for a lighthouse is faro. In Spain, the word faro is usually applied only to the larger coastal lights, but in South America it is often used for all fixed lights, including towers too small to be considered lighthouses. In Spanish 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. Also, the Spanish word canal means a natural channel, not an artificial canal. Chile's lighthouse agency, the Servicio de Señalización Marítima, is now an office within the ministry known as Directemar (Dirección General del Territorio Marítimo y Marina Mercante). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume G of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 111. The Chilean light list, Lista de Faros de la Costa de Chile, is not available online.
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Coquimbo Region Lighthouses
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Atacama Region Lighthouses
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Antofagasta Region Lighthouses
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Tarapacá Region Lighthouses
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Arica y Parinacota Region Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Southern Perú | Northeast: Bolivia | South: Central Chile
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Posted December 2004. Checked and revised October 23, 2024. Lighthouses: 28. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.