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. The Baja California region of Mexico is a peninsula more than 1300 km (800 miles) long, stretching south from the U.S. border at Tijuana to the resorts of Cabo San Lucas. "Baja," as it is usually called, separates the Pacific on the west from the Sea of Cortés (Gulf of California) on the east. The west coast is popular with surfers and the east coast attracts sea kayakers and ecotourists. Many visitors arrive in Baja California by air or cruise ship, but there are also paved highways running the length of the peninsula. Federal Highway 1, the Carretera Transpeninsular, runs 1711 km (1063 mi) from Tijuana at the U.S. border to Cabo San Lucas Mexico is a federal union of 31 states (estados) plus the capital district and the states are subdivided into municipalities (municipios). The state of Baja California occupies the northern half of the peninsula, while the state of Baja California Sur occupies the southern half, the border between the two states being at latitude 28° north. This page includes the lighthouses of the south and west coasts of Baja California Sur. Many of the lighthouses of Baja California Sur are in remote areas and are seldom visited. Additional information and photos would certainly be welcome. Because of the rugged topography of the peninsula most of the lighthouses are short towers located at the tops of bluffs or ridges overlooking the sea. 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. 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. 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 G of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA numbers are from Publication 111.
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Los Cabos Municipality Lighthouses
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Punta Arena de la Rivera Light, Los Cabos photo copyright Capt. Peter Mosselberger; used by permission |
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Pacific Coast Lighthouses
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Cabo San Lazaro Light, Comondú, December 1996 ex-Panoramio photo copyright Joe Weide; used by permission |
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Information available on lost lighthouses: Notable faux lighthouses:
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Cabo San Lucas: faux lighthouse (right), Front Range Light (circled) and Rear Range Light; contributed photo copyright James Smith; used by permission |
Adjoining pages: Northeast: Eastern Baja California | North: Northwestern Baja California
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Checked and revised November 29, 2023. Lighthouses: 35. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.