| Ponta da Barca Lighthouse, a sentinel on the northern coast of Graciosa | |
| Location | Santa Cruz da Graciosa, Graciosa |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | |
| Year first constructed | 1902 |
| Year first lit | 1930 |
| Automated | 1999 |
| Foundation | 1902 |
| Construction | 1883 |
| Tower shape | cylinderical |
| Height | 23 metres |
| Focal height | 71 metres |
| Original lens | Fl W 7 s |
| Current lens | 500 mm Focal Distance |
| Intensity | 1000 W |
| Range | 20 nmi (37 km) |
The Ponta da Barca Lighthouse (Farol da Ponta da Barca) is a beacon/lighthouse located along the 24 metre cliffs of Ponta da Barca, near the hamlet of Bom Jesus, parish of Santa Cruz da Graciosa on the island of the same, the archipelago of the Azores. Immediately near the lighthouse, is the emblematic baleia de pedra, a curious geological basaltic rock that has resisted erosion, in the shape of a whale. The lighthouse includes a symmetrical single-floor building, and a 23 metre high cylindrical tower that extends its lamp to 71 metres above the ocean surface. It is considered a second-order lighthouse, which began operating on February 1, 1930.
The lighthouse, denoted as 797 (Internationally recognized as D-2676) is equipped with a 3-order leticular dioptric lamp with a 500mm focal distance, manufactured in 1927. Initially the beacon was produced by a mechanical system that rotated the incandescent lamp every 5 seconds, powered by a diesel engine (and with a butane reserve).
The General Plan for Lighthouses of 1883, documents the necessity of installing a lighthouse on top of Pico Negro, a volcanic cone located 500 metres to the southeast of Ponta da Barca.
Difficulties in accessibility and problems with the geomorphology of the area brought the planners to the conclusion that Ponta da Barca would be a more suitable alternative (although the interposition of Pico Negro did not permit some visibility from Ponta da Barca). The new selection, was acceptable to the Commission for Lighthouses, which concluded in 1902 that although the economically small lighthouse would be able to support ships travelling from the north.
Although included in the 1883 Lighthouse Plan, and its location selected in 1902, it wasn't until 1927 when the equipment, optics and lantern were purchased from France (for 804,200 francs). Isolated in the northwest coast of Graciosa, a road was constructed in 1935 by the District Government of Angra do Heroísmo to link the lighthouse to Santa Cruz (supported by 6000$00 escudos from Lighthouse Commission).
The original lighthouse building had initially consisted of two living quarters for the lighthouse keepers. After 1952 a third space, and then a fourth were added, in order support four lighthouse keepers.
In 1958, the lighthouse became electrically powered thus extending the lamp to 3000 Watt, at 110 Volts, and allowing the beacon to be seen up to 41 nautical miles (76 km). In the 1980s, the lamp was substituted for a 1000 Watt bulb, at 120 Volts, but reducing the luminosity to 20 nautical miles (37 km). The lighthouse joined the municipal power-grid in 1999, and services became automated through DF model system.
The lighthouse is today the tallest tower in the Azores, in an intemperate zones; in 1978 a intense lightning storm caused large damage in the lighthouse and lighthouse keeper's quarters.