Located on the east coast of Africa, the United Republic of Tanzania was formed by a merger of two dissimilar British colonies, Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Tanganyika included all the mainland of the present country and also Mafia Island. It was the major part of a German colony (German East Africa) until it was captured by British troops in World War I. Britain governed it under a League of Nations mandate until World War II and then under a United Nations trustreeship until it became independent in 1961. Zanzibar, which includes the islands of Unguja (Zanzibar) and Pemba, has a long history as an Arab outpost on the African coast. It was also the site of a Portuguese trading post throughout most of the 16th and 17th centuries, until the Sultan of Oman drove the Portuguese out in 1698. Zanzibar was placed under a British protectorate beginning in 1890 but it continued to be governed autonomously as a sultanate until the British ended their protectorate in 1963. After a revolution overthrew the sultanate Zanzibar joined Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964. Mainland Tanzania is divided into 26 regions (mkoa). Zanzibar, an autonomous region with its own government and legislature, is divided into five regions, three on Unjuga and two on Pemba. In Swahili, the common language of the Tanzanian coast, the word for a lighthouse is mnara wa taa (related to the Arabic manara). The Arabic word ras is used for a cape. Lighthouses in Tanzania, except for Zanzibar, are operated by the Tanzania Ports Authority. Lighthouses in Zanzibar are operated by the Zanzibar Ports Corporation. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Light List numbers are from volume D of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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Zanzibar Lighthouses
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![]() Shangani (House of Wonders) Light, Zanzibar, January 2023 Google Maps photo by Ahmad Nyungwa |
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Mainland Lighthouses
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![]() Kinondoni (Oyster Bay) Range Front Light, Dar es Salaam, February 2017 Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by MISANA |
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![]() Kurasini Range Front Light, Dar es Salaam, August 2018 Google Maps photo by 360Panoramic Image |
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![]() Ras Kanzi Light ruins, Kidagaa Village TripAdvisor (Lighthouse Beach Resort) Creative Commons photo by Jarle Naustvik |
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![]() Fanjove Island Light, Mtwara, December 2022 Google Maps photo by Mark Tluszcz |
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![]() Ras Jandoni Range Front Light, Mtwara, December 2017 Google Maps photo by Amin Ben Eshaq |
Lake Victoria Lighthouses
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![]() South Port Light, Mwanza, October 2022 Google Maps photo by Gilbert Charles |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Kenya | South: Northern Mozambique | Southwest: Zambia | Northwest: Burundi
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Posted June 12, 2005. Checked and revised January 23, 2025. Lighthouses: 52. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.