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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 describes lighthouses of the northeastern corner of Mexico in the state of Tamaulipas. This coast, facing east on the Gulf of Mexico, consists mostly of sandy barrier islands and beaches similar to the coast of neighboring southern Texas. The important ports of Altamira and Tampico are at the extreme southern end of Tamaulipas. 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 National Maritime Authority Unit (Unidad de la Autoridad Maritima Nacional, UNAMAN). Many of the larger light stations are staffed by resident civilian keepers. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. CF numbers are from the Mexican Cuaderno de Faros (Handbook of Lighthouses). Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. NGA Light List numbers are from NGA Publication 110.
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![]() Altamira Light, Altamira, February 2024 photo copyright Capt. Peter Mosselberger; used by permission |
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Information available on lost lighthouses
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: USA: South Texas | South: Northern Veracruz
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted December 2004. Checked and revised April 16, 2026. Lighthouses: 21. Site copyright 2026 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.