Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 37.8241321123053, -25.135679012673002

​Located in the eastern part of the island of S. Miguel, the Arnel lighthouse was the first to be installed in the Azores archipelago, having started operating on November 26, 1876. According to existing documentation, the complete equipment of the lighthouse cost around 21 thousand reis.

Its characteristic octagonal tower was built on top of the building that also housed the lighthouse keepers.

Originally equipped with a 2nd order dioptric device, producing fixed white light and showing flashes every 2 minutes, its luminous range was, in clear weather, 18 miles for fixed light and 25 miles for flares.

The illuminating source was an oil lamp with a constant level nozzle with four twists, with an hourly consumption of 554 grams.

In April 1881, the City Council addressed a petition to the King, in the following terms:

«Five years have elapsed since the lighthouse at Ponta do Arnel in Villa do Nordeste, on the island of S. Miguel, has been in operation, and until now an essential service has not been attended to and which forms an integral part of that establishment – ​​a meteorological station, semaphoric station and electric telegraph that connects it with the Captaincy of the Port of Ponta Delgada. Signals have been made more than once to the land of the navigation that crosses this point, signs that cannot be corresponded because the lighthouse is not equipped with mariatos, and even recently an English steamer was seen communicating with the land by means of letters and waiting, anchored for three days, for a response.»

In the General Plan for Illumination and Beaconing, approved in 1883, it was foreseen that this lighthouse would remain as it was, noting however in the observations: «The current one is preserved for as long as it serves, and should be replaced in due course by a device of groups of flares conveniently chosen.»

In 1929, its facilities were expanded with a view to electrification and the transition to sea air and, in 1936, it was equipped with two more dwelling houses for lighthouse keepers, a work budgeted at 74,172$00. The following year, he began to use oil vapor incandescence as a light source, a transformation that cost 22,849$00.

In 1955, it was electrified through the installation of generating sets and the optics were replaced by a 3rd order rotating lenticular apparatus, a small model (375mm focal length), equipped with aero-maritime panels, whose rotation was guaranteed by a gas engine from the same manufacturer, the company AGA, and included a system for automatically replacing the lamp with acetylene lighting. The lamp installed was 3000 W, with acetylene gas as a reserve.

As a result of this transformation, which cost 497,200$00, its luminous range became 21 miles.

It is of some interest that the replacement of the optics of the lighthouse at Ponta do Arnel and respective electrification took place to the detriment of the construction of the lighthouse at Ponta do Cabrestante, on the Island of Santa Maria, foreseen in the Plan of Beaconing approved in 1883, but which proved to be unnecessary given the existence of an aeronautical lighthouse on that island.

In 1990, as a result of the abandonment of the use of acetylene gas as fuel, the optical apparatus was removed and installed in its place, a “hybrid” apparatus, built in the Lighthouse Department and consisting of panels with dioptric rings placed on an automatic rotating pedestal, on which the new 3rd order optics was mounted.

The current feature of the lighthouse consists of single white lightning flashes, 5 seconds in period, with a range of 25 nautical miles.

The lighthouse tower has a height of 15 meters and an altitude of 66 meters.​

LATITUDE: 37º 49',39 N - 37º 49,45' N (WGS)

LONGITUDE: 25º 08'.16 W - 25º 08.14' W (WGS)

HEIGHT: 15 METERS

ALTITUDE: 66 METERS

RANGE: 25 MILES (±46 Km)

FEATURE: Fl G 5s (Lt 0.2s;Ec 4.8s).