Location Corvo, Vila do Corvo Markings / pattern white tower Range 6 mi (9.7 km) Opened 1910 Automated February 1987 | Construction concrete tower Light source mains power Height 3 m Focal height 22 m Year first constructed 1910 | |
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Tower shape hexagonal prism tower with balcony and beacon | ||
The Lighthouse of Ponta Negra (Portuguese: Farolim da Ponta Negra) is a beacon/lighthouse located along the cliffs of promontory of Ponta Negra, in the municipality of Vila do Corvo, on the Portuguese island of Corvo, in the archipelago of the Azores.
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History
The small lighthouse was constructed in November 1910, with a sixth order diotropic light, providing a fixed white light, that ranged to 10 miles (16 km), supported by acetylene gas.
In 1955, construction began on a modernization of the light. By May 1956, the new light was inaugurated, this time using a fourth-order diotropic light, in groups of double clarions, with a 15 miles (24 km) range.
Its power source was changed in February 1987, to photovoltaic panels, and converted to a solar panel-battery reserve system by the first decade of the 21st century.
Architecture
This light is located on the clifftop promontory of Ponta Negra, on the southern coast of Corvo (west of the port of Boqueirão) alongside the traditional windmills; it is at the edge of the Caminho dos Moinhos near the westernmost windmill of the group.
Originally the illuminating tower was an ironwork structure 6 metres (20 ft) high, with small cabana-like metal annex, painted in red. The modern building consists of a beacon mounted to a hexagonal tower, constructed of reinforced concrete. The small tower is 3 metres (9.8 ft) high, and the current light is 23 metres (75 ft) above sea level, providing a range of sight to 6 miles (9.7 km), using a simple white beacon with five second interval.