Boujdour Lighthouse

The Boujdour lighthouse (or Cabo Bojador Light; French: Phare de Boujdour, Arabic: منارة راس بوجدور) is a lighthouse located near Cape Bojador in the city of Boujdour in the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region of Morocco. The Boujdour lighthouse became a historical monument in the southern provinces of Morocco after the annexation of Western Sahara to Morocco in 1976.

Boujdour lighthouse
Lighthouse and military base
LocationCape Bojador, Boujdour, Morocco
Coordinates26°07′26″N 14°29′10″W
Tower
Constructed1953 Edit this on Wikidata
Height52 m (171 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
OperatorPort and Maritime Authority Edit this on Wikidata
HeritageMoroccan cultural heritage Edit this on Wikidata
Light
First lit1959 Edit this on Wikidata
Focal height70 m (230 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
Range24 nmi (44 km; 28 mi) Edit this on Wikidata
Characteristic Fl(3) W 15s Edit this on Wikidata

History

The lighthouse is on the Atlantic coast in the center of the city of Boujdour, 180 kilometres (110 mi) south of Laayoune.[1] The present structure replaced a 1903 square tower on the fort of Boujdour. It was built while Western Sahara was a Spanish colony.[2] Work began in 1953 and the lighthouse was commissioned in 1959.[3] Morocco took control of the territory in 1975 and created Boujdour Province in 1976.[1] The legal status is still disputed.[2]

Structure

The lighthouse tower is 52 metres (171 ft) high.[2] The building has a circular diameter of about 3 metres (9.8 ft). The structure contains a particularly hard stone, similar to granite.[4] It is a white conical[lower-alpha 1] concrete tower, with beige vertical stripes. It has a spiral staircase with 246 steps. The equipment has been modernized.[1] The light emits three white flashes every 15 seconds, at a focal height of 70 metres (230 ft) above sea level, with a maximum range of approximately 44 kilometres (27 mi).[2]

The lighthouse is considered a historical monument.[1] It is managed by the Port and Maritime Authority within the Ministry of Equipment, Transport and Logistics.[3]

Notes
  1. The ministry describes the tower as conical (Tour en béton, conique blanche avec des bandes verticales beiges).[1] Another source says it is octagonal.[2] A third source says it is often thought that it tapers towards the top, but this is not true.[4] The structure may have a circular interior with raised vertical stripes of masonry on the exterior, defining eight faces.

Citations
  1. Phare de Boujdour Ministère.
  2. Cabo Bojador Light Lighthouse Digest.
  3. Phares du Maroc Ministère.
  4. Hisham El Madraoui 2014.

Sources
  • Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Morocco: Atlantic Coast". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  • "Cabo Bojador Light", Lighthouse Digest Magazine, Foghorn Publishing, retrieved 2021-10-24
  • Hisham El Madraoui (11 July 2014), "Lighthouse Ras Boujdour", Al Maghrib Today (in Arabic), El Oyoun, retrieved 2021-10-24
  • Phare de Boujdour (in French), Ministère de l’Equipement du Transport, de la Logistique et de l’Eau, archived from the original on 2017-09-06, retrieved 2021-10-24
  • Phares du Maroc, Ministère de l’Equipement du Transport, de la Logistique et de l’Eau, retrieved 2021-10-24
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