Punta Cumplida Lighthouse facts for kids
 |
|
| Location | Barlovento, La Palma, Spain |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 28°50′20″N 17°46′41″W / 28.83901°N 17.77814°W |
| Year first lit | 1867 |
| Height | 34 metres (112 ft) |
| Focal height | 63 metres (207 ft) |
| Range | 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 5s |
The Punta Cumplida Lighthouse (which means Faro de Punta Cumplida in Spanish) is an old lighthouse in Spain. It was built in the 1800s and is still working today. You can find it on the Canary island of La Palma, in a town called Barlovento.
This lighthouse is the oldest of the four main lighthouses on La Palma. Each of these lighthouses is located at a different main direction of the island. Punta Cumplida is at the north-eastern tip. The Fuencaliente Lighthouse is at the southern point. The two newer lighthouses, Punta Lava and Arenas Blancas, are at the eastern and western points.
Contents
Lighthouse History
People realized a lighthouse was needed on La Palma back in 1857. This was part of the first plan to add lights for ships around the Canary Islands. At first, they thought about building it in a different spot. But later, they decided the north-east coast was a better place.
The plan for the lighthouse was approved in 1861. A builder named Jose Rodriguez Gonzalez won the contract. He built it for a cost of just over 500,000 Spanish reales, which was a lot of money back then!
The lighthouse first started working in 1867. It looks like many other lighthouses built in the Canary Islands during the 1800s. It has a white house where the lighthouse keepers used to live. Dark volcanic rock was used for some of the details.
A tall, round tower stands next to the house, facing the Atlantic Ocean. The tower has two walkways and a top part that holds the light. This part originally had a special lens called a Fresnel lens. In 1982, the tower was made taller by 4 meters. Now, it stands 34 meters high.
In 2010, the Spanish postal service, Correos, put the Punta Cumplida Lighthouse on a special stamp. It was one of six lighthouses featured in the collection.
The original Fresnel lens from the lighthouse was moved. It used to be on display inside the ferry terminal in Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. But in 2013, it was brought back to La Palma. Now, you can see it in a special glass and steel display in Barlovento.
In 2017, there was exciting news about the lighthouse keeper's house. It was announced that the empty house would be turned into a nice place for tourists to stay. The Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife will fix up the building. They will make it ready for visitors, but still keep some areas for the lighthouse equipment.
Modern LED Lighting
In 2011, the Punta Cumplida Lighthouse became very special. It was the first lighthouse in Europe to use LED bulbs! This new lighting system is very modern.
It has six panels, and each panel has four LED bulbs. These panels are on a spinning drum. This drum turns to make the light flash in a specific way. It flashes once every five seconds, just like the original light.
Punta Cumplida was chosen for this new system because it used a lot of electricity before. The 24 LED lamps use much less power. The new light can be seen from 24 nautical miles away. That's about 44 kilometers! A local ferry even saw it from 40 nautical miles away on a clear day.
Map
See also
In Spanish: Faro de Punta Cumplida para niños
- List of lighthouses in the Canary Islands
- List of lighthouses in Spain
