Los Morrillos Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
Los Morrillos Light, also known as Faro Los Morrillos de Cabo Rojo, is a historic lighthouse
located in the municipality
of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
.
, this lighthouse was constructed in 1882 in order to guide passing ships through the southeast entrance from the Caribbean Sea
through the treacherous Mona Passage
into the Atlantic Ocean
. The lighthouse is located over a white lime
cliff
which is surrounded by salt water
lagoons and marshes. The cliffs surrounding the lighthouse drop over 200 feet into the ocean.
The lighthouse's architecture
is distinguished by its simplicity, with minimal decoration and an unelaborated cornice
repeated through the structure. The illuminating apparatus is housed in a cast-iron, copper
and glass
lantern
. The lenticular lens
was manufactured by the French
firm Sautter, Lemonnier and Company.
Originally, the lighthouse was manned by two keepers and an engineer, who lived on the grounds with their families. In 1967 the lighthouse was renovated and its operation is currently completely automated. The structure itself has been abandoned for decades, although recent the local government as well as local civic groups, such as Caborrojeños Pro Salud y Ambiente
, are pushing towards turning the old lighthouse keeper's house into a museum. The project was taken over by the municipality, an action that lost U.S. Federal government funds that had been assigned for it. The municipality took over the renovations, which, according to critics, has irrevocably damaged the historical significance of the internal structure.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
located in the municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
Cabo Rojo is a municipality situated on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico and forms part of the San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropolitan area as well as the larger Mayagüez–San Germán–Cabo Rojo Combined Statistical Area....
.
History
Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, this lighthouse was constructed in 1882 in order to guide passing ships through the southeast entrance from the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
through the treacherous Mona Passage
Mona Passage
The Mona Passage is a strait that separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, and is an important shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama Canal....
into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. The lighthouse is located over a white lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
cliff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
which is surrounded by salt water
Seawater
Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...
lagoons and marshes. The cliffs surrounding the lighthouse drop over 200 feet into the ocean.
The lighthouse's architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
is distinguished by its simplicity, with minimal decoration and an unelaborated cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
repeated through the structure. The illuminating apparatus is housed in a cast-iron, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
lantern
Lantern
A lantern is a portable lighting device or mounted light fixture used to illuminate broad areas. Lanterns may also be used for signaling, as 'torches', or as general light sources outdoors . Low light level varieties are used for decoration. The term "lantern" is also used more generically to...
. The lenticular lens
Lens (optics)
A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...
was manufactured by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
firm Sautter, Lemonnier and Company.
Originally, the lighthouse was manned by two keepers and an engineer, who lived on the grounds with their families. In 1967 the lighthouse was renovated and its operation is currently completely automated. The structure itself has been abandoned for decades, although recent the local government as well as local civic groups, such as Caborrojeños Pro Salud y Ambiente
Caborrojeños Pro Salud y Ambiente
Caborrojeños Pro Salud y Ambiente, Inc. is an environmentalist organization based in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico....
, are pushing towards turning the old lighthouse keeper's house into a museum. The project was taken over by the municipality, an action that lost U.S. Federal government funds that had been assigned for it. The municipality took over the renovations, which, according to critics, has irrevocably damaged the historical significance of the internal structure.
See also
- Lighthouses in Puerto RicoLighthouses in Puerto RicoThe lighthouses system of Puerto Rico consists of lighthouses that were built mostly during the last twenty years of the nineteenth century. These served as guides to important marine routes....
- Cabo Rojo National Wildlife RefugeCabo Rojo National Wildlife RefugeCabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge is located on the southwestern side of Puerto Rico in the municipio of Cabo Rojo. It was established in 1974, when 587 acres of land were obtained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from the Central Intelligence Agency which had operated the Caribbean Bureau of...
- Boquerón, Puerto RicoBoquerón, Puerto RicoBoquerón is a beach village located in the town of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. The village is one of the main tourist attractions in the southwestern part of the island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the barrio population was 4,963....