Lighthouses of Mauritania
Mauritania is a thinly populated nation of the Sahara
Desert, located on the northwestern coast of Africa between Morocco
and Sénégal. The country's coastline is 750 km (465 mi) long but has
only two ports, Nouakchott
and Nouâdhibou. France colonized the country in the first years of the 20th century and maintained control until Mauritania became independent
in 1960. The French colony was administered from Saint-Louis in neighboring Sénégal, and it was only at the time of independence that the previously-tiny fishing village of Nouakchott was identified and developed as the capital of the country. The port and railway terminal of Nouâdhibou (formerly called Port-Étienne) was developed to ship iron ore from mines at Zouérat.
Aids to navigation in Mauritania are maintained by the port authorities
and Nouâdhibou, respectively.
ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS
World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume D of the
Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers
are from Publication 113.
- Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse.
Pointe de Cansado Light, Nouâdhibou, April 2009
Panoramio photo copyright leonarti; used by permission
- Nouakchott Lighthouse
- Nouakchott Approach (Port de l'Amitié)
- 1980s? Active; focal plane 37 m (121 ft); white light, 5 s on, 5 s off.
Roughly 30 m (98 ft) round cylindrical tower with lantern and double gallery,
painted white with narrow black horizontal bands. The Degree Confluence Project
has a photo
taken by J. Baker Hill from exactly 18°N 16°W, about 1 km (0.6 mi)
east of the lighthouse. The lighthouse is also visible in an aerial photo of the port (click on the photo for enlargement), and Google has a satellite
view. At the time of independence in 1960, the tiny village of Nouakchott
was selected as the national capital and site of a new port. In the 1980s,
Chinese engineers built a large groin perpendicular to the coast on the south
side of the new city. The groin traps southward moving sand to create a wide
beach for the town to the north and an open harbor to the south. At the end
of the groin a large breakwater wharf arcs southwestward to provide an artificial
shelter for ocean-going ships. This facility is called Port de l'Amitié
(Friendship Port). The lighthouse is located on the new beach about 1 km (0.6
mi) northwest of the new harbor. Site status unknown. Operator: Port Autonome
de Nouakchott. ARLHS MAU-004; Admiralty D2986; NGA 24373.
- Pointe Chacal (Nouâdhibou)
- Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); white, red, or green light,
depending on direction, 2 s on, 2 s off. 12 m (39 ft) octagonal tower, painted
with black and white vertical stripes. No photo available, and the lighthouse has not been found in Google's satellite view. This light guides
ships on a west northwest course into the harbor of Nouâdhibou, which
is a major port for the shipment of iron ore from the Zouîrât
mines 480 km (300 mi) to the west. Located on Pointe Chacal, on the east
side of the harbor entrance to Nouâdhibou. Site status unknown.
Autonome de Nouâdhibou. ARLHS MAU-002; Admiralty D2980; NGA 24364.
- * Pointe de Cansado
- Date unknown (station established 1913). Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft);
quick-flashing white light; red flashes are shown over a sector to the southeast.
peninsula about 7 km (4.5 mi) south southeast of Nouâdhibou.
Site open, tower closed. Operator: Port
Autonome de Nouâdhibou. ARLHS MAU-003; Admiralty D2979; NGA
- * Cap
Blanc (Ras Nouâdhibou)
- 1910. Active; focal plane 43 m (141 ft); white flash every 5 s. 20
m (66 ft) octagonal tower with lantern and gallery, mounted on a square base, painted with black
and white horizontal bands. Lantern removed. The photo
at right was taken by Prof. George Burgess on a zoological field trip. Jean-Baptiste Dodane's 2013 photo is at right, a closeup by José Arocena is also available, Trabas has a distant photo by Capt. Peter Mosselberger, J.P.C. van Heijst has an aerial
photo, the Degree Confluence Project has a wider
view showing the lighthouse and the point of the cape, and Bing has
view. The older photos show that the lighthouse was without its lantern for many years. It was restored in 2009 by a Spanish company, La Maquinista Valenciana. Huelse has a historic postcard
view of the lighthouse with its original lantern. The great
bulge of West Africa ends in two prominent capes, Cap Blanc in Mauritania
and Cap Vert in Senegal. European explorers named them, respectively, the
"white cape," for its desert sands, and the "green cape,"
for the vegetation that begins to appear farther south. The White Cape is
a long, sandy peninsula sheltering the Baie de Nouâdhibou, the only
naturally protected harbor on the Mauritanian coast. Mauritania's northern border runs down the middle of the peninsula. The lighthouse is
located near the tip of the peninsula, only a few feet from the international
frontier. Site open, tower closed. Operator: Port
Autonome de Nouâdhibou. ARLHS MAU-001; Admiralty D2977; NGA 24340.
- * Ras Nouâdhibou
- 2009. Active; focal plane and light characteristic unknown. Approx. 13
m (43 ft) round barbell-shaped tower, colored with black and white horizontal bands. Vladyslav
Krasylnykov uploaded the first photo of this new tower in August 2009, Sergio Formoso's photo was taken in December 2009, Jean-Baptiste Dodane has a photo showing the new light behind the Cap Blanc lighthouse, and Bing has a distant satellite view. This appears to be a passing light or leading light placed to guide vessels around the cape. Located at the extreme point of Cap Blanc, about 150 m (490 ft) south of the lighthouse. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by international authorities.