The Republic of Costa Rica is a nation in Central America located between Nicaragua and Panama. The country has a lengthy coastline on the Pacific Ocean and a much shorter one on the Caribbean Sea. Costa Rica is the most stable of the Central American nations and has become a popular destination for tourism, especially ecotourism. The principal ports of the country are Puntarenas and Caldera on the Pacific and Limón on the Caribbean. This page is for the lights of the Pacific coast; there is a second page for lights of the Caribbean Coast. Costa Rica is divided into seven provinces and the provinces are divided into cantons. The majority of the Pacific coast is included in Puntarenas Province; Guanacaste Province includes the northwestern coast. The Spanish word for a lighthouse is faro; 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. Aids to navigation on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica are operated by INCOP (Instituto Costarricense de Puertos del Pacífico), the agency managing all the Pacific ports. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume G of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. Light List numbers are from NGA Publication 111.
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Puntarenas Province Lighthouses
Central West Coast Lighthouse |
![]() Punta Quepos Light, Puerto Quepos, 2010 División Marítimo Portuaria photo |
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![]() Isla Negritos Light, Gulf of Nicoya, 2012 División Marítimo Portuaria photo |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Nicaragua Pacific Coast | South: Southern Panama
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Posted (Central America page) January 24, 2005. Checked and revised December 23, 2024. Lighthouses: 12. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.