Name and Location

The Phare de Faraman lighthouse stands at the entrance to the Étang de Faraman, a small lagoon within the Camargue wetland system on the western Rhône delta. Its address is Unnamed Rd, 13129 Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France, and its coordinates are 43°21′16.85″N, 4°41′13.56″E.

Construction and History

The Phare de Faraman is a navigational and communications tower built in the mid-20th century. The exact year of first lighting is not documented, but the communications tower was added subsequently. It was officially listed as a Monument historique on 21 June 2012 (inscription PA13000063).

Architecture and Materials

The lighthouse has a cylindrical concrete tower with a gallery and lantern, surmounted by a communications mast. The tower stands 43 meters tall above ground and has a focal height of 41 meters above mean sea level. It is constructed from reinforced concrete (tower) and steel (lantern room and antennas). The architectural style is functional and utilitarian.

Light and Navigation

The lighthouse displays a group flashing light characteristic, Fl(2) W 10 s, with a sequence detail of 0.1 s flash + 2.4 s eclipse + 0.1 s flash + 7.4 s eclipse. The range is approximately 42 km. It is fully automated and unmanned.

Accessibility and Visiting

The lighthouse tower and lantern are not open to the public, but visitors can view the site from nearby roadside pull-offs. The site is reachable by car via a minor road ("Route Sans Nom") branching off from the D36 in the Camargue.

Notable Views and Landscape

From its base, visitors (even from a distance) can enjoy sweeping panoramas of pale pink salt pans to the south, reed beds, and in certain seasons, large flocks of waterfowl. Photography enthusiasts often capture the stark contrast of the striped tower against low-lying marsh and big Provençal skies.

Anecdotes and Folklore

Local tales persist of phantom footsteps heard near the lamp room at dusk. Some long-time rice-farm workers in the Camargue claim that on foggy mornings, the lighthouse's two-flash signature eerily echoes across the reeds.

Technical and Operational Details

The lighthouse is managed by the Service des Phares et Balises (French Lighthouse Service), Ministry of Culture (Monuments historiques division). It is a dual-purpose structure serving as both a lighthouse and telecommunications mast, featuring mobile-phone base stations and microwave relay antennas.

Further Information

• For further reading, please consult the ANFR database (2019) listing for "Phare de Faraman" (ref. 542147), Ministry of Culture base Mérimée: PA13000063 (Monument historique), French Wikipedia entry on Phare de Faraman (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phare_de_Faraman), and SHOM Nautical Charts covering the Rhône delta entrances.