Calcanhar Lighthouse ( pt, Farol do Calcanhar), also known as Touros Lighthouse and formerly named Olhos D'Agua, is an active
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
in
Touros
Touros (lit. "bulls") is a municipality in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. It is known as "Brazil's Corner" because it is located at the northeast corner of the country, being the closest South American city to Africa (2,841 km from Kabrousse in ...
,
Rio Grande do Norte
Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", ref ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. At a height of it is the nineteenth tallest "traditional lighthouse" in the world, as well as the tallest in Brazil, and one of the tallest concrete lighthouses in the world.
Serviço de Sinalização Náutica do Nordeste
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Location
The lighthouse is strategically placed on the beach of the Ponta de Calcanhar, near Touros, where the Brazilian coast forms a right angle, known as “Esquina do Brasil” (corner of Brazil) or "Esquina do Continente" (corner of the continent), near the northern end of the great curve of the cape of São Roque, the northeastern shoulder of South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. It alerts ships to a coral reef located about offshore.[ A spiral staircase of 277 steps leads to an observation platform; a 21-step ladder leads to the light.]lighthouse keeper
A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...
's houses and the light station has a resident keeper. The site is open, and the tower is open to the public daily 9 am to 11 am.
See also
*List of tallest lighthouses in the world
This is a list of the tallest lighthouses, by tower height (as opposed to focal height, i.e. height of the lamp of a lighthouse from water level). The list includes only "traditional lighthouses", as defined by ''The Lighthouse Directory'', i.e. bu ...
*List of lighthouses in Brazil
This is a list of lighthouses in Brazil. They are located along the Atlantic coastline and islands of Brazil. These are named landfall lights, or those with a range of over twenty-five nautical miles.
Lighthouses
See also
* Lists of lighthouse ...
Further reading
*
*
References
External links
Centro de Sinalização Náutica Almirante Moraes Rego
Lighthouses completed in 1912
Lighthouses in Brazil
Buildings and structures in Rio Grande do Norte
Tourist attractions in Rio Grande do Norte
Transport in Rio Grande do Norte
1912 establishments in Brazil
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