The Republic of the Philippines (Pilipinas in Filipino) includes more than 7600 islands stretching over 1750 km (1100 mi) of the western Pacific and separating the Philippine Sea on the east from the South China Sea on the west. The largest islands are Luzon at the northern end of the country and Mindanao at the southern end. As of 2020 the population of the country was about 109 million. The archipelago was a Spanish colony until the Spanish-American War of 1898, which brought the islands under U.S. administration. Japan occupied the islands during World War II (1942-45) and the country became independent shortly thereafter (1946). The country is divided into 17 regions and subdivided into 81 provinces. This page lists lighthouses in the island of Samar, part of the Eastern Visayas Region in the eastern part of the Phillipines. The third largest island of the Philippines, Samar has a population of about 1.9 million. The north and east coasts of the island face the open Philippine Sea. The south coast faces Leyte Gulf and the west coast faces the Samar Sea. At its northwestern corner Samar is separated from Luzon by the crucial San Bernardino Strait, the only passage from the Pacific Ocean into the central Philippines; in the southwest it is separated from Leyte by the narrow San Juanico Strait, crossed by a bridge since 1973. Formerly a single province, Samar was divided in 1963 into the three provinces of Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and (Western) Samar. Filipino and English are official languages in the Philippines. In Filipino a lighthouses is called a parola; an island is an isla or pulo. Many English maritime terms have been adopted into Filipino, including cape, bay, and port, and the names of historic lighthouses are often retained in their Spanish forms. Lighthouses in the Philippines are maintained by the Marine Safety Services Command of the Philippine Coast Guard. Notices to Mariners are posted by the National Mapping and Resource Information Agency (NAMRIA). Many Philippine lighthouses are not well known so better information and photos are always needed. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. PCG numbers are the Philippines Light List numbers, where known. Admiralty numbers are from volume F of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
|
|
Northern Samar Province Lighthouses
|
![]() Allen Light, Northern Samar, October 2021 Google Maps street view |
|
![]() San José Light, Northern Samar, August 2016 Google Maps street view |
|
Eastern Samar Province Lighthouses
|
|
|
Samar Province Lighthouses
|
|
|
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: Southwest: Leyte and Biliran | West: Masbate | Northwest: Southeast Luzon
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted July 24, 2005. Checked and revised November 12, 2024. Lighthouses: 30. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.