The Federative Republic of Brazil (Brasil in Portuguese), the largest country in South America and fifth largest in the world, has a lengthy coastline, a large number of lighthouses, and a distinguished lighthouse history. Colonized by Portugal, Brazil declared its independence in 1822. Uniquely among American nations it was a monarchy as the Empire of Brazil until 1889. Brazil is a federal republic with 26 states and a federal district. This page covers the lighthouses of Brazil's South Region, including the three southernmost states of the Brazilian coast: Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. The northern part of this coastline features beautiful sandy beaches framed by steep, sometimes mountainous headlands with a scattering of offshore islands. Rio Grande do Sul is different: its coastline is mostly a very long and generally roadless sand beach, broken at the entrance to the estuary for which the state is named. The Portuguese word for a lighthouse is farol, plural faróis. In Brazilian use, the word farol generally applies to all light towers, regardless of whether they are enclosed structures or not. The word farolete or farolim is sometimes used for smaller towers. In Portuguese ilha is an island, ilhéu is an islet, cabo is a cape, ponta is a promontory or point of land, rocha is a rock, recife is a reef, baía is a bay, estreito is a strait, rio is a river, and porto is a port or harbor. Active lighthouses in Brazil are owned by the navy (Marinha do Brasil) and maintained by the Centro de Sinalização Náutica e Reparos Almirante Moraes Rego (CAMR) in the Diretoria de Hidrografia e Navegacão (DHN). Many of the larger lighthouses are staffed by resident keepers or by rotating crews of naval personnel. Only a small number of Brazilian lighthouses are open to the public. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. BR numbers are from the official Brazilian Lista de Faroís. Admiralty numbers are from volume G of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA numbers are from Publication 110.
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Lighthouses of Paraná
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Lighthouses of Santa Catarina
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![]() Ilha do Paz Light, São Francisco do Sul, June 2008 ex-Panoramio photo copyright Renato Raych; used by permission |
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![]() Itajaí South Breakwater Light, Rio Itajaí, February 2004 Flickr Creative Commons photo by Andréia Bohner |
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![]() Ilha do Arvoredo Light, September 2010 ex-Panoramio photo copyright Roger Frony; permission requested |
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Lighthouses of Rio Grande do Sul
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![]() 1952 Torres Light (1993 tower at right), January 2006 Flickr Creative Commons photo by Thiago Ferronatto |
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![]() Barra Rio Grande Light, Rio Grande do Sul, May 2010 ex-Panoramio photo copyright Francisco Parobé; permission requested |
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![]() Albardão Light, Santa Vitoria do Palmar Instituto Brasil Costal photo by João Paulo (no longer online) |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Southeastern Brazil | South: Uruguay | West: Paraguay
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Posted January 30, 2004. Checked and revised June 14, 2022. Lighthouses: 49. Site copyright 2022 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.