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Ponta da Barca Lighthouse

Santa Cruz da Graciosa, Italy

Ponta da Barca Lighthouse

The Lighthouse of Ponta da Barca (Portuguese: Farol da Ponta da Barca) is a beacon/lighthouse located along the 24 metres (79 ft) cliffs of Ponta da Barca, near the hamlet of Bom Jesus, civil parish of Santa Cruz da Graciosa on the island of the same, the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Immedi

ately near the lighthouse, is the emblematic baleia de pedra (whale rock), 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 (75 ft) high cylindrical tower that extends its lamp to 71 metres (233 ft) above the ocean surface. It is considered a second-order lighthouse, which began operating on 1 February 1930. The lighthouse, denoted as 797 (Internationally recognized as D-2676) is equipped with a 3-order lenticular dioptric lamp with a 500 millimetres (20 in) 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).

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