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 two southernmost states, 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 Santa Catarina
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![]() Ilha do Paz Light, São Francisco do Sul, June 2021 Flickr Creative Commons photo by Marinha do Brasil |
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Lighthouses of Rio Grande do Sul
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![]() Mostardas Light, Mostardas, April 2023 ex-Google Maps photo by Victor Varela |
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![]() Capão da Marca Light, Tavares, April 2023 ex-Google Maps photo by Victor Varela |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Southeastern Brazil | South: Uruguay | West: Paraguay
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted January 30, 2004. Checked and revised August 9, 2024. Lighthouses: 44. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.