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 including the state of Tamaulipas and the Huasteca regions in the northern portion of the state of Veracruz. 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 and the port of Tuxpan is in the Huasteca region of Veracruz. 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 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. 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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Lighthouses of Tamaulipas
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![]() La Pesca Light, Soto la Marina, May 2022 Google Maps photo by Benigno Gómez Garza |
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![]() Altamira Light, Altamira, February 2024 photo copyright Capt. Peter Mosselberger; used by permission |
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Lighthouses of the Huasteca Region, Veracruz
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![]() Escollera Sur Light, Pueblo Viejo, March 2016 photo copyright Capt. Peter Mosselberger; used by permission |
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![]() Muelle Pmex Range Rear Light, Tuxpan, September 2018 photo copyright Capt. Peter Mossellberger; used by permission |
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![]() Range 3 (Etileno) Range Rear Light, Tuxpan, May 2023 Google Maps street view |
Information available on lost lighthouses
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: South Texas | South: Central Gulf Coast
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Posted December 2004. Checked and revised April 1, 2025. Lighthouses: 51. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.